Since When Has Life Been Normal?
by Brit The Mighty
Summary: A revamp on the origins of the Titans and how they became who they are in the series... Back into the swing of it at last, Chap24 is done! (Two updates in one day... Woo) And the story is now COMPLETE!
1. Lake City Boarding School, Pennsylvania

DISCLAIMER:- I don't own the Teen Titans, or any other characters I use in the story. I also do not own any brand names, etc. I may use in the fic, So don't sue me. I would however like to own any of the above. Soooo… If any feels generous this Christmas you know what to get me. 

Alright. This isn't my first fic... but it is the first fic I've actually got around to posting. Basically, right now, all of the Teen Titans live go to school in a place called Lake City and live their own lives. This is the story about how some of them get their powers, and how they form the Teen Titans as a team. Think 'Smallville' but for the Titans. I've tried to throw in lots of hints, so hinting lines and quotes from the show appear, as well as little snides to other characters in the universe. (Look out for Superboy in the second chapter!) It may sound like the comic book --- but it's actually more of the animated continuity so deal with it. Oh and -not to deliberately disappoint people - but I used Dick Grayson, not Tim Drake - because I love all the little hints in the series. OK? OK. On with the show.

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**Chapter 1:- Lake City Boarding School, Pennsylvania.**

The school bell rang and its toll echoed throughout the hallways. A red door flew open and out emerged two boys, both about the same height.

"Man!" the skinnier boy exclaimed. "That man does not shut up!"

"Gar, he's an doctorate level physicist, he's just explaining what he knows."

"I know Dick, but jeez, who has the last name 'Light'?"

Dick chuckled. Richard Grayson (Called Dick by his friends, his teachers... Heck, everyone called him Dick.) was a relatively new student at Lake City, but he'd sunk in well. Not much was known about him, except that his adoptive father had sent him to Lake City from Gotham for some unknown reason, however he was an all-A student and most of the teachers enjoyed teaching him because of his polite and proper manner, and no one really asked about his past because of the piercing look in his eye whenever someone mentioned it. Dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt, he ruffled through his spiky hair, and looked at the quickly filling corridors with his sharp blue eyes.

A passing freshman dropped her book as she walked through the bustling hallways, and Dick politely bent over, picked it up and handed it to her. The freshman blushed, "Thanks..." she muttered, before scurrying away.

"How do you do that?" blurted out Gar.

"Do what?"

"Make any girl in the entire frickin' school go goo-goo eyes when you even look at them."

"I'm just lucky I guess."

"Typical. You get girls, and I just get odd looks."

"You dated that Terra girl didn't you?"

"You know that didn't work out. And she left anyway. Had to go off with her 'father'."

They reached their dorm room. Dick slid in the key and they walked in. A bird call whistled out from one of the cupboards.

"Gar. You didn't sneak in more pets, did you?"

Gar opened the cupboard door to reveal a bird cage with three yellow and white budgies inside. "So what if I did?"

"You know it's against regulations."

"Oh, they won't hurt anybody," Gar said, feeding them a few drops of birdseed.

Dick smiled. Garfield Logan (or 'Gar') was an odd boy. His parents were most famous biologists, and their love for animals had passed onto him. He was a hardcore vegan, and he was often found sneaking animals into the school, which often got him into trouble with teachers, and the fact that he was the class clown did not help those relationships. However, he was very fond of the biology teacher, Dr. Register, and that was the only subject he really did well in. He even beat Dick in that class. He wore baggy cargo pants, with a t-shirt with shark emblem on it. He also wore a necklace, composed of various teeth from animals. His hair was like a jungle itself, a royal mess, and his eyes were as deep as the trees within a jungle. He always said he wanted to dye his hair green, but he'd never done it. Too much of a chicken, said Dick, which Gar constantly denied.

Gar replaced the budgie's water bottle, then said: "Where's Big V?"

"Football game remember? Against Smallville High? C'mon, grab your book. We'll be late for Math."

Gar sighed, grabbed his book and hurried out of the room. At approximately the same time, a tallish girl, dressed in a black knee-length skirt with a black top and black boots, walked out of the room next to theirs and shut the door, two books and a key in hand. She was pretty, but her grim attitude overshadowed that fact. Her eyes were a deep indigo as was her hair.. Everyone assumed they weren't natural, just freaky contact lenses and some hair dye. But, like Dick, she was mysterious. No-one knew anything about her except that she moved here a few weeks ago, hadn't made any friends, and had her own room because everywhere else was full. She tried to keep all her books balanced as she locked the door, but it went awry and both of the books fell to the floor.

Gar waited for Dick to bend over and picked up the books, but got a sharp elbow in the rib. "Your one," whispered Dick sharply as he turned to lock his door.

Gar bent over and picked up both the books, and handed them both to the girl as she finished locking the door.

"Thanks," she said in a drab monotone.

Gar was silent but then received another sharp elbow from Dick.

"It's Raven, right? I'm Gar, and this is Dick," said Gar nervously. Dick muttered a hello from behind.

"I know who you are," she said in the same monotone, before turning and walking off.

"Well, that went well," said Gar. "Bet you'd have her licking your boots clean by now."

"Shut up. Anyway, I wouldn't steal my best friend's girl."

"She ain't my... or Vic's... girl."

"C'mon. You've had a thing for her for ages."

"How do you know?"

"Figured it out about two days after she arrived," and he stalked off to class.

Gar scowled, then realized he was alone and hurried to catch up with Dick.

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OK. I realize it moves pretty slow at first because I have to introduce the characters. It gets good soon! I promise!  
Next: - Meet Victor Stone


	2. Meet Victor Stone

Hey, hey, hey. It's chapter 2. It's basically a continue of Chap.1, introducing the characters and whatnot. But it was so long I cut it in two. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 2:- Meet Victor Stone**

The school rang gain, and Math class was dismissed for lunch.

"C'mon. Vic's getting back soon," exclaimed Dick. They walked briskly to the main entrance, and out, just in time to the yellow school bus approach the gates.

The team poured off, rejoicing and cheerful. Vic got off second to last, clapping a teammate on the back.

"How'd Lake City's favorite quarterback do then?" asked Gar.

"We won. But it was pretty dang close. Smallville's got a mean winger. What was his name? Kent. Conner Kent." Victor Stone was the Lake City football team quarterback, captain of the soccer team, star player of the hockey team, champion swimmer, and the current state champion in track. In other words, he was a star athlete. He was also pretty good in electronics, because of his only parent - his father - was the head of S.T.A.R. Labs in Metropolis. He stood about six foot tall, and was one of the only African American students at the school. He wore blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt. His deep brown eyes looked down upon his two best friends, with a friendly smile on his face.

"You realize that was just formality. I just want lunch," said Gar. Vic laughed and they walked to the cafeteria.

Since they'd arrived late, the line was short, but almost every table was full. Vic took double portions, and Gar ordered the vegetarian option. That scoured the room for a table.

"C'mon. That's the only table that ain't full," said Dick walking over to a table occupied by only the gothic girl they had met earlier, Raven. "Hey Raven. Do you mind if we sit here? Everywhere else is full," continued Dick politely.

"If you must."

"Thanks!" exclaimed Gar, as he sat down next to Raven and started to pick through his meal, taking out the eggs. Vic chuckled and sat down opposite Gar, with Dick next to him.

Raven looked disgustingly at Gar, then turned to Dick. "What is he doing?"

"Picking out the eggs."

"Stupid school don't serve a vegan option so I have pick through the dang thing and take out the eggs and stuff," Gar said hurriedly, without looking up.

"Here we go..." said Vic quietly.

"I mean, how do they expect me to eat something that has been created for life? This egg was made by a chicken to be bred into something new. A new form of life. And yet they expect me to eat it! And also, the chicken who laid this egg was probably stuck in a cage twenty-four hours and forced to nothing but lay eggs, so we can eat them. They could be free creatures. But we still stick them in these horrific cages..."

"Gar?" Dick interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Gar scowled then turned back to his now egg-free meal.

"OK," Raven stated sarcastically, before picking up a jet black hardcover book and started to read. They ate in silence, well, except for Gar's chomping. Soon, a small, dorky looking boy with glasses arrived at the table and gave Dick, Vic, and Gar letters and a newspaper to Raven, before scurrying off. Gar set his aside and finished his meal, whilst Dick and Vic opened theirs immediately and read in silence. Raven put down her book, and started to read the newspaper.

Vic placed down his letter. "Typical Dad. Three quarters of the letter was him explaining his next big experiment. Technological human implants. Great. I'll have to compete with cyborgs on the football field before long."

Dick laughed and set his letter down. Gar read his, before exclaiming excitedly: "Yes!"

"What?" asked Dick. Raven looked up from the hem of the newspaper.

"Mom and Dad are taking me to Africa!!"

"Permanently?" asked Vic.

"No, just for a couple weeks. But they're taking me to Africa! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"What's so special about Africa?" asked Raven.

Gar turned to her. "I've always wanted to go there. See all the animals and stuff! And Mom's told me all these things about the wildlife and stuff! Oh, man! I can't wait!" Seeing Raven had turned back to her newspaper, Gar turned to Vic. "And we're gonna go searching for the legendary green ape. It's said to carry the power of the entire animal kingdom."

"Just another urban myth," said Dick.

"Dude," yelled Vic. "What is it with you and urban myths? You lived in Gotham. Home of one of the greatest vigilantes of our time, and you call him a frickin' urban myth."

"You mean Batman? The entire thing is a hoax by G.C.P.D. to scare the living crap out of criminals. It's working quite well as you can see."

"Then what do you say to that?" asked Vic poking the front page of Raven's newspaper, which showed a blurry picture of a figure carrying a long staff. The headline ran: THE 'ROBIN' STRIKES AGAIN. LAKE CITY'S NEW VIGILANTE. Raven scowled at having newspaper poked as she was trying to read.

"Probably just L.C.P.D. copying Gotham's idea."

"No, dude. He's Batman's sidekick sent over here to kick some criminal butt!" exclaimed Gar.

Raven shook her head in exasperation.

"Speaking of Gotham City," said Vic to Dick, changing the subject. "How's the billionaire playboy doing? What girls has he been seeing lately, huh?"

"Bruce isn't like that."

"Yeah, right. And Superman can't fly."

"Your father is Bruce Wayne?" asked Raven curiously.

"Adopted father. And he's not like that. So he can be a little scary at Dickes, but most of the time he's very amiable indeed."

"Don't use big words dude," said Gar.

"Friendly," said Dick sternly.

"Speaking of parents," said Gar. "Why didn't you get any letters from home, Rae?"

"Don't call me Rae."

"Why not?"

"I don't want you to."

"OK," Gar said raising his hands in mock surrender. "Why didn't you get any letters from home, RAY-VEN?"

"My mother is dead, and my father is in a high-security prison," said Raven dryly barely looking up from her newspaper.

"Right. Touchy subject. Let's change it," said Gar turning back to Vic and Dick who both had stunned looks on their faces. But the awkward moment was broken by some raspy voice over the school loudspeakers, everyone knew whom it was the principal, Mr. Sebastian.

"This is Mr. Sebastian, announcing that Lake City won the football game against Smallville High. A special thank you to star player, Mr. Baran Flinders."

Applause broke out. Vic leaned into the table and whispered, "Hah! The guy did nothing! But that dang principal's got something for him."

"And also, I would like to announce the arrival of two new students here at Lake City, Kori Anderstar and Jennifer Xeronis. They will boarding in Room 259."

"Who has a last name like Xeronis?" laughed Vic.

"Oh, god," said Raven, with a tone of concern in her voice which was unusual. "That's my room," and with that she fled out of the cafeteria, leaving her stuff behind.

Dick laughed. "C'mon. Let's go up and check the newbies out."

"K," said Gar getting up.

"Hey..." said Dick quickly as Gar was walking away. "You forgot your girl's stuff."

Gar turned, scowled, picked up Raven's stuff and walked off. Dick and Vic followed laughing.

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OK. Done with Chap.2. Onward!!!!

Next:- Two New Students


	3. Two New Students

Righto. Another introduction chapter. (Far too many bloody characters to introduce...) Enjoy!

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**Chapter 3:- Two New Students**

When they arrived at Room 259, the door was shut and commotion could be heard inside. Vic banged on the door hard, and a pale girl with bright pink hair opened it. She wore a purple top and black trousers, but her bright pink hair and eyes took away from the brightness of the outfit's colors.

"WOH!" said Vic. "Too much pink!"

The girl giggled. "Who might you be?"

"I'm Dick Grayson, and these are my friends Vic Stone and Gar Logan. We're friends of Raven," Dick said politely.

"No, they're not," came Raven's voice from the room.

"Can we come in anyway?" asked Gar.

"No," came Raven's voice.

"Sure, you can!" exclaimed the girl as Raven sighed in the background. "I'm Jennifer, but all my friends call me Jinx," the pink-haired girl said as the boys entered the room.

"Why?" asked Vic.

"Cause my initals spell it. My full name is Jennifer Indigo Niobe Xeronis."

"Well, it certainly makes it easier to say," said Dick with a smile.

Gar approached Raven, who lay on a bed made with dark blue covers and surrounded by creepy artifacts, surveying the destruction in the room. "Errr... Rae."

"Don't call me Rae."

"Right, sorry. Raven, you left these downstairs." He handed her the black book, the newspaper and some other things she left in the cafeteria.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Being nice."

"It just looked like you could use a friend, that's all."

She was silent for a brief moment. "Thank you," she said, with a slight smile sneaking onto her lips.

"You're welcome." He extended his hand to help her off the bed. "Friends?"

She took his hand and nodded, pulling herself up.

"And you think I'm funny, right?"

"Don't push it."

"Right..."

"Where's your other roommate, Jinx?" asked Dick.

"In the bathroom, she's been in there since we got here."

"I am coming! I am coming!" came a sweet soft voice from inside the bathroom. The door flew open and out stepped a tall, red-headed girl with dazzling green eyes. She had slightly tanned skin, and wore a thigh-length lilac skirt and a lilac form-fitting lilac top.

Dick momentarily forgot his politeness and stared, before he got a sharp punch from Vic. "Put your eyes back in their sockets dude," he whispered.

"... Hi..." said Dick, for the first time in his life losing his cool. "...I'm Dick."

"Dude, he's like totally head over heels for her," whispered Gar to Raven.

"Why hello friend! My name is Kori," the girl said, slightly blushing.

"Errr... Hi Kori. Where are you from?"

"I am from Tam..." she paused, then continued. "Japan."

"My father has told me many things about Japan. Why did you move?" Dick said, regaining his ability to speak without drooling.

"It was considered in my best interests to move here. Tell me, friend Dick, can you show me where the history room is? My next class is there and I am enstranged to these hallways."

"I have the same class. Follow me," and with that they both left through the door and turned left, broad smiles on both their faces.

"Well, that was..." started Jinx.

"Odd," said Vic.

"Freaky," said Gar.

"Disturbing," said Raven.

Jinx looked at the Dicketable she had been given. "Oh crud. I have English. Where the heck is Mr. Harris' room?"

"I've got track practice. It's on the way, I'll walk you," answered Vic. He politely let Jinx go through the door first. She walked through and he walked out and said quickly to Gar, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Gar, in response, took the book he was holding and threw it at Vic, but he shut the door fast enough to avoid it.

"Well, erm... I've got a free period, so I'm going outside for a bit," said Gar. "If you ain't doing anything, d'ya wanna come?"

Raven looked at Gar, then turned and grabbed the black book. "Why not?" she said kinda gloomily.

Gar opened the door, and let Raven step out, then quickly examined his teeth in the mirror before exiting.

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OK. The pieces are set, and its time for the game to get moving!  
Next:- It's Pizza Night!


	4. It's Pizza Night!

Chapter 4? Holy cow. This thing is gonna have a lot of chapters....

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**Chapter 4:- It's Pizza Night!**

The school day passed and, since it was Friday, it was time for Dick, Vic, and Gar to uphold their weekly tradition.

"Boo Yah! Pizza night!" yelled Vic, bursting out of the front door followed by a laughing crowd consisting of Gar, Dick, Jinx, Kori and Raven (except she wasn't laughing).

Kori walked next to Dick. "What is this pizza you speak of? Is it good?"

Dick chuckled. "It's good, Kori. I'll show you when we get there."

"C'mon. I'll drive," said Vic, opening the door of an old black pick-up truck.

"I get shotgun!" yelled Gar and Jinx at the same time.

"Ladies first pal," Vic said, allowing Jinx to climb into the passenger seat. Dick jumped into the bed of the truck and extended a hand to help Kori get in, then as she settled down next to one of the wheel hubs, he extended a hand to help Raven up.

"No thanks. I'd rather stay here... and drown," said Raven dryly.

"Nuh-uh. You're coming with," stated Gar as he grabbed her hand, jumped into the bed and pulled her up. Raven sighed and reluctantly settled down, as Dick sat next to Kori.

Gar got up and knocked on the truck's rear window. "Onward!" he yelled before sitting down next to Raven.

The journey was short and uneventful and before long they arrived in Lake City Pizzeria. They walked in as a group, smiling and laughing - with the notable exception of Raven - and Vic yelled to the chef behind the counter. "Yo Mario!"

The chef laughed joyously extending his arms in greeting, before saying in a fake Italian accent: "Ah, my favorite customers. How are ya boys?"

"Not bad man. Not bad. Make it a table for six tonight."

"Ah, ha. My boys got themselves some girls then, eh?"

Vic laughed. "No, just some good friends."

Mario laughed. "Right... Take your usual and pull over some extra chairs, OK? I'll be with ya in a moment."

"Alright, man."

The boys walked over to a circular table in the corner of the room, and the girls followed. They sat for barely two minutes, when Mario came over with a notepad. "OK. OK. Let's have some drinks, eh? What will it be?"

"Milk for me, Mario," said Dick.

"Pink lemonade please!" yelled Jinx excitedly.

"I'll take a powerade if ya got one," answered Vic.

"Have you got any tea?" said Raven dryly.

"I'll just have a water," said Gar.

"I will have a CO-KA-CO-LA," said Kori slowly, trying desperately to pronounce every syllable.

"OK. OK. Do you know what you want on your pizzas now, eh?"

"We'll take four large pizzas," said Dick.

"OK. OK. One vegan extreme and one all-meat experience, I presume."

"You're good, man," said Vic, pointing affectionately at Mario.

"What do you want girls?" asked Dick.

"I will take meat, cream, pineapple and mustard," said Kori loudly.

Everyone looked at her in pure shock, horror, disgust and confusion.

"Err... Kori. Not everything on the menu is a pizza topping," said Dick, correcting her mistake.

"Oh, then I will accept the pepperoni perfection."

"Right, errr... Interesting choice," said Mario, half to Kori and half to Dick.

"What about you Rae?" asked Gar, to which he received a sharp glare so he corrected himself, "RAY-VEN?"

Raven eyed the menu. "I guess I'll take the dark surprise."

"Yeah, that sounds like you," said Gar.

"That OK with you Jinx?" asked Dick.

"Yeah! As long as I can steal a bit of everyone's."

"Of course. But you might not want Gar's. It's covered in tofu"  
"Does the tofu have meat in it?" asked Jinx.

"Of course the tofu doesn't have meat in it. It's TOFU," replied Gar.

At that, the table burst out in laughter, as did Mario, who hurriedly ran off to fetch the order. Even Raven smiled.

"AH-HA!" Gar pointed and yelled. "YOU SMILED! YOU THINK I'M FUNNY!"

The smile was immeaditely wiped from Raven's face. "I don't think so."

"Nope! You can't deny it now! You think I'm funny!" Gar jumped onto the table and started to do a foolish jig. "Raven thinks I'm funny! Raven thinks I'm funny! Raven thinks I'm funny!"

Raven, a smile quickly returning to her face, extended her arm, and grabbed Gar's leg, causing him to trip, fall off the table with a clatter, with random confectionaries falling on his head. The table burst out in laughter, as the ketchup and mustard dripped down Gar's face. Raven bent down and talked right into Gar's ear, "Now that's comedy," as a broad smile erupted on her face and she let out a quick chuckle. Gar smiled as she helped him up and the six friends ate their pizzas in happiness.

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Yay! Some Garaven stuff going on! Now everyone's happy! Right? Guys? Guys?  
Next:- Enter The Boy Wonder


	5. Enter The Boy Wonder

Wahey! time for some action! And ROBIN appears... yes, ROBIN.

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**Chapter 5:- Enter The Boy Wonder**

In the dark, the six friends - bloated with pizza - left the pizza place and got back into Vic's truck. Jinx rode shotgun - again, and the others climbed into the bed and settled down.

"I'm telling you. 'Robin' is nothing more than a scare tactic used by the police department," said Dick, obviously hating this subject.

"Dude, how can the police control someone with all those skills and moves? I mean the guy is a complete badass!" replied Gar.

Dick smiled. "You're delusional."

Gar smiled back. "You're insane."

Just at that moment, the doors of a nearby jewellery store burst open and out came six armed men wearing black balaclavas, five of them carrying bags. They ran straight into the road in froint of Vic's truck. Vic, by instinct, swerved to avoid them. They ran directly into a fire hydrant and the front hood buckled and twisted, before the entire truck flipped onto its side. The four passengers in the bed were thrown downwards, then trapped underneath the heavy bed of the car, plunging them into darkness. Gar was thrown to the side, and landed clumsily on top of Raven, and was stuck there. Kori got trapped in one of the corners of the bed and was knocked unconscious.

"Get off of me!" said Raven pushing Gar upwards.

"Can't. Move. Deal with it," said Gar, straining as the bed of the truck pushed against his back. The truck shifted and rocked, pinning Gar's face against the ground above Raven's left shoulder, and Raven's into the side of the truck above his left shoulder. Their bodies were pinned tightly against each other's.

"Well, this is awkward," added Gar.

"Why me?" asked Raven rhetorically.

In the cab, Vic - who hadn't been wearing a seatbelt - was laying on the 'roof' of the cab, forced up against the broken windshield. Jinx dangled from her seatbelt, clutching at her aching stomach.

Vic looked through the broken windshield and saw the six men walking away, fondling the precious items from their bags.

Then suddenly from a nearby building, came a figure, leaping through the air, long staff in hand. The figure landed gracefully, and held a bo staff in front of his face. It was a man - no, a boy - dressed in green sweat pants, and a red top with bright yellow collar, belt, and 'R' logo. He also wore green gloves and a bright yellow cape. A black mask covered his eyes, concealing his true identity.

"Give back the jewels," Robin said in a voice that was deep and menacing, yet oddly familiar to Vic.

"We don't take orders from kids," said one of the men, before letting loose with the pistol he was carrying. Robin ducked, slid forward, and kicked the legs out from under the man who had spoke. Then jumped upward, swinging his staff which collided with another man's jaw. He held the staff in front of him, pressed a button the hilt, and it extended further, slamming the two men who were flanking him in the mouth, breaking most of their teeth. Then, as the final man, approached him from his front, he flipped around on his staff - which was still in two of the men's mouths - and did a kangaroo kick, sending the man flying away. He then took his staff out of the men's mouths, hit them both over the head with it, and surveyed the scene.

He counted the bodies, five. He looked around. One man was running down the street cowering. Robin grabbed something from his belt, and threw it accurately. It smashed into the man's head, and the man immediately fell to the ground, unconscious. He kicked every man to check they were unconscious. One was faking it, so Robin punched him in the gut. He then dragged all the bodies together, tied them together with a steel cord, and threw the other end over a streetlight. He then grabbed the loose end, pulled hard and hoisted the unconscious men into the air, then tied the other end to a telephone booth.

Kori regained consciousness and saw the darkness around her, and felt the fury inside of her. She checked around her, Vic and Jinx couldn't see her from the cab. Raven and Gar were pinned against each other and couldn't see her position. She quietly lifted her hand, and let the green beam loose. It cut through the bed of the truck, letting the dim light of the streetlights surge in. Then, as quickly as she turned it on, she shut it off.

Robin glanced in the way of the truck and saw the green beam cut through it. His eyes narrowed, and he darted towards a nearby alley.

Kori began to crawl out of the large crack in the bottom of the truck. A hand came down to help her and she accepted it.

"Dick..."

"C'mon Kori, are you OK?"

"What happened?"

"I was hoping you'd have seen."

She clambered out in her entirety and kneeled on the top of the truck with Dick.

"Are you sure you're OK, Kori?"

"Yes. But we must help the others."

Dick nodded and jumped off the edge of the truck, and offered his arms for Kori to leap into. She did, and they walked over to where Raven and Gar were trapped. They placed their hands on the side of the truck.

"One... Two... Three... LIFT!" said Dick.

And both Kori and Dick lifted, the side of the truck. They got it off easily, (Too easily, thought Dick) and Gar clambered off Raven.

"What were you two doing down there?" asked Dick.

"Nothing!" exclaimed Gar.

Raven, who was still laying on the ground, seemed to be in shock.

"Rae?" asked Gar.

"That was the most horrific experience of my life."

Dick smiled, as did Kori. Gar offered a hand for Raven to get up and she took it, and pulled herself up.

Vic got out the cab, and unconscious Jinx in his arms. "Thanks for helping guys."

"You're welcome," said Kori politely.

Vic looked at her confused. "Anyway, did you see him Dick?"

"See who?"

"Robin."

"He was here? And I missed him? Oh, man... I'd do anything to meet that guy," said Gar.

"Let's not go into this right now, Vic. Let's just get back to the school."

"Good idea," added Raven.

"What about the truck?" asked Gar.

"I've got insurance," answered Vic.

And with that, they all began to walk home, leaving their wrecked truck behind. Vic set the waking Jinx on the ground, and let her walk herself, but kept one hand over her to keep her balanced. It was about thirty seconds of walking when Kori tripped on something. She picked up a yellow, metal object with two spikes emerging from a point.

"What is this thing that tried to eliminate me?" asked Kori

"Dude..." said Gar. "That's one of his thingies."

"Yeah..." added Vic. "A 'birdarang'"

"IT'S MINE!" they both yelled, grabbing the birdarang from Kori, and fighting over it.

Raven separated the both of them, grabbed the birdarang, and said: "Why don't I keep it until we get home and you can argue over it there?"

They both scowled at her, but stopped fighting and walked home peacefully.

Dick lagged behind for a moment, and looked concerned. He glanced back at the truck, then at Kori, then ran to catch up with the others.

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WHAT? Kori has powers????? All shall be revealed.... soon. Next:- Something Smells Rancid


	6. Something Smells Rancid

Ok. Chap.6, a chapter devoted to Garaven stuff, because I have to do something with them before I send him away. Enjoy! Oh, and I must apologize in the advance for the really bad 'Fractured' reference.

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**Chapter 6:- Something Smells Rancid**

"You gotta fight... For your right... To party!!!" pulsed through the room as Gar's clock radio went off.

"Oh, jeez... Turn that crap off Gar!" shouted Vic from his bed. Gar got up, quickly hit the button, got dressed and left the room. He jumped to the Room 259's door, and knocked twice politely.

"Yes anonymous rapper of door?" said Kori's voice from inside, it sounded even more muffled than it should be so she was probably in the bathroom. Again.

"Is Raven in?"

"No, she is not. She went outside. She said she must meditate to keep her inner peace."

"Sounds like her. Thanks, Kor."

"You are welcome, anonymous rapper of door!"

Gar sped down to the school grounds, and saw Raven sitting cross-legged under the oldest tree in the ground. He began to approach when he saw someone else do the same thing. A large, spiky black haired boy, wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans. Gar knew his name, he picked on everyone shorter than him since third grade, and Gar was always shorter than him. His name was Johnny Rancid.

"Hey Goth chick," Johnny blurted out in a coarse, ugly voice. "Wanna come take a ride with me?"

Raven opened her eyes and looked up, then closed them again and said: "No."

"What do you mean no? Any girl who I say comes with me goes with me."

"And how do you intend to make me come with you? Poor grammar?"

Johnny reached down and grabbed her by the hem of her shirt, and pulled her upward to standing position. "You better watch your mouth Goth chick."

"And you better watch your breath."

"Why you little..." Johnny raised a fist, and Raven looked at it, unafraid. But then she heard footsteps and a yell.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Gar yelled running up.

"Hey, hey. It's the 'beast boy'," said Johnny in a sarcastic, cruel tone. Gar came up to Johnny. Johnny was a good seven inches taller than him, but had a determined look on his face.

"I said. Leave her alone."

"Did beastie get a girlfriend? Awww... how sweet," replied Johnny in a ugly baby like voice, then he reverted to his normal tone. "Well, she's my girlfriend now, bub, so scram!"

And to that, Gar's only reply was to kick Johnny in the shin with all his strength. Johnny dropped Raven, and she scrambled out of the brawl to stand behind Gar.

Johnny yelled. "That's it Logan. You're dead." Johnny grabbed Gar by the hem of his shirt and lifted him up, right off the ground, pinning him up against the tree.

By now, of course a crowd had gathered, and in the commotion, no-one saw Raven's eyes turn blood red for a moment. "Mustn't get angry. Can't get angry," she muttered.

Gar struggled against Johnny, but couldn't get himself free.

"Not so tough now eh, beastie?" snarled Johnny, to which, in reply, Gar managed to produce a large wad of saliva and spat it directly into Johnny's face. A large 'ooh' issued from the crowd.

"You're gonna pay for that, Logan."

"Stop it, Rancid," interrupted Raven.

"Shut up Goth chick. This ain't your fight. It's your boyfriend's."

"He's not my boyfriend," she muttered under her breath.

"Time to die Logan," Johnny said, drawing back his fist.

"Ladies first," said Gar, before unleashing a sharp, vicious kick to Johnny's balls. An 'aaaahh' issued from the crowd.

Johnny dropped Gar, and crouched down in pain. "Oh, god... That hurt."

Gar ran over to Raven and ran a hand over his neck. "You OK, Rae?"

Raven nodded and smiled briefly.

Johnny got back up, growled and pounced towards Gar and Raven. Gar instinctively put himself in front of Raven, but there was no need, because Johnny pounced into the chest of a very angry African American.

Dick, Kori and Jinx ran up to Gar and Raven. "You alright guys?" asked Dick.

Gar and Raven nodded, then turned to Vic and Johnny.

"Get out of my way, Stone," said Johnny, looking right into Vic's eyes as they were about the same height.

Vic stayed silent. Johnny tried to get around him, but Vic grabbed him and threw him down.

"I'll get you. All of you. One day, I swear!"

"Yeah. And your motorbike can fly," added Vic, as he turned away and walked off with his friends.

Johnny growled.

"What were you doing outside?" asked Raven to Gar.

"Looking for you. I'm leaving for Africa today remember?"

"I remember."

"C'mon Gar, you're parents will be waiting out front by now," interrupted Vic.

They arrived at the front door of the school and sure enough a white jeep was waiting with Gar's parents and Dr. Register chatting in front of it.

Gar's mother waved at Gar, then came over and gave him a hug. His father gave him an affectionate tap on the back.

"We're going to bring Dr. Register along with us if that's OK with you Gar," said Gar's father.

"Of course it is! The more the merrier right?"

"Well come on then son, let's have some introductions."

"Oh right..." said Gar, turning. "You know Dick and Vic, and this is Kori, Jinx, and Raven."

Gar's father shook everyone's hand politely and his mother gave a courteous nod to each.

"Well come on son. Say your goodbyes and we'll be off."

Gar nodded, then turned to Dick and Vic, who each clapped him on the back.

"Have fun, pal," said Dick.

"See ya soon, buddy," added Vic.

Gar then turned to Kori, who gave him a quick hug, as did Jinx. Then he approached Raven, who without hesitation gave him a long hug, and whispered in his ear.

"Thank you, Gar."

"Anything for you Rae," Gar replied softly.

They pulled away from each other and Gar opened the side door of the Jeep as the adults clambered into the vehicle.

"See you in two weeks guys!" he said happily, then added excitedly: "I'm going to Africa!!!"

Everyone smiled including Raven as he shut his door. He waved from his open window and everyone waved back.

Dick, Kori, Vic and Jinx all turned to go back inside, but Raven lingered and watched the white jeep disappear into the distance. "Anything..." she whispered softly to herself.

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GAR'S GONE! Man, I hate writing him out. He's so much fun to write. But it had to be done. sigh Anyway, read on my friends, because Dick is about to discover something very important.  
Next:- The Future's Orange (For all you Brits out there who remember those awful adverts)


	7. The Future's Orange

Alright, next chap. time to for some secrets to be revealed methinks....

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**Chapter 7:- The Future's Orange**

Three days after Gar's unwanted departure, the school was quiet. Without the class clown there to entertain them, classes became boring and life was undoubtedly a lot more peaceful. Raven had become more separated than ever and had even marked Gar's return on a calendar she had near her bed.

Meanwhile, after releasing every animal he could find in his dorm, (which included a Labrador puppy, eight goldfish, three budgies and a cat) Dick made a decision. He'd been tormented by it since she arrived, and finally he wanted to act upon it - much to Vic's relief.

He stalked over to room 259, and rapped upon the door. Raven opened it.

"Hey, Raven. Is Kori here?"

Raven stayed silent , but pulled the door open wider allowing Dick to step in. After he entered, she shut the door, then she quickly returned to her bed and pulled out a black mirror, in which she examined her reflection very closely.

Dick surveyed the room, and noticed the bathroom was shut. Assuming it was Kori - she was always in there - he knocked on the door and called out her name.

She answered: "One moment, if you please, friend Dick."

He waited politely and approached her as she exited the bathroom. "Let's go outside."

She nodded and walked outside with him.

As soon as they were outside, under the big old tree, Dick went straight to the point. "Kori? Do you want to… maybe… go out for pizza tonight?"

Kori clapped her hands in excitement. "Of course Dick! We should go up and tell the others straight away!"

"No, Kori," added Dick, as he grabbed Kori's hand. "I want it to be just you and me. Alone. On a date."

Kori beamed broadly. "I would love to Dick. May I ask the time from you though?"

"It's about two. How about I pick you up around seven?"

"Seven? Aah! That means I only have five hours to become prepared."

"Kori, you have classes this afternoon."

"Aah! Less time!" and with that, she darted off to her dorm, as Dick smiled broadly under the tree.

At seven, Jinx was knocking hard on the bathroom door. "Kori! Jeesh, girl! Quit with the make up and go already! You're gonna be late!"

The bathroom door flew open. Kori stood, wearing a long lilac skirt and a lilac top. Around her neck, she wore a necklace with a green stone on it, that matched her dazzling eyes. With the way she looked right now, she could have any guy in the school kissing her feet, probably any guy in the city.

"Looking good Kor!" exclaimed Jinx. "Now get down there!"

Kori ran as fast as she could through the door and to the front entrance. Where Dick was waiting, two motorcycle helmets in hand. He wore dark trousers and a white-button down shirt, as his spiky hair ruffled in the wind.

"Mind if we go by bike?" asked Dick as he stared at Kori's magnificent appearance.

Kori shook her head.

"Then let's go," said Dick handing Kori a helmet, and walked over to a red Suzuki parked nearby. Seeing Kori struggle with the helmet, he added: "Here allow me," and helped her with the straps before putting his on. He climbed onto the bike, and indicated Kori to sit on the back. She did so, and reached her hands around his waist, and held tightly, hugging up to him. He revved the engine twice, then shot off down the road.

They arrived at the pizza place, and ordered spaghetti, as they ate in happiness on the roof of the building. Then, in the distance thunder rumbled, and Dick got up and stood on the edge of the building watching.

"Come on Kori," he called back. "You'll love this."

Kori came up to the edge of the building and admired the storm in the distance. For some reason, it was illuminated in a orange glow, and occasionally a flash of orange would illuminate the black sky.

"It is beautiful."

"Kori?" said Dick. "I care about you a lot, and I'm worried about you."

"Why Dick?" asked Kori as she turned away from the storm and looked directly into Dick's bright blue eyes.

"I know about those green beams."

"What?"

"I don't know what they are, but I know they must have come from you."

"I - I - Don't know what you're talking about."

Dick stepped closer. "You can tell me anything Kor. You can trust me."

Kori turned back to the storm.

"Kor?"

A raindrop fell on the table behind them making a telltale sound, as the thunder struck again.

"What was that?" asked Kori alarmed.

"Just a little rain, nothing to be worried about."

"Rain?" exclaimed Kori, looking worried as she began to ran away, but was stopped as Dick grabbed her hand. An orange flash illuminated the sky again.

"Stay. Stay with me."

She looked into his eyes, and he looked back into hers. A raindrop fell on the roof of the building. Kori pulled away from Dick.

"Please," added Dick, pulling her back and looking deep into her face.

A raindrop fell on Kori's cheek and ran down it, leaving a trail of deep orange. The thunder struck, pronouncing its color and texture. Dick looked at it, shocked and surprised. Another raindrop fell on her, and ran down the bridge of her nose, leaving the same trail. Dick looked down at Kori's hands, and pulled his hands away, revealing deep orange prints in her hands. He looked up at her face, and saw that she was crying, her tears leaving deep orange treads as they trickled down her perfect face. The thunder struck again, showing her entire face in a beautiful shade of orange.

Dick reached up and touched her cheek, and rubbed his hand over it, then pulled away. He saw the orange prints in her cheeks, as the rain fell heavier. He looked at his hand, and saw the powdery substance he had rubbed off of her face. "Make up," he muttered.

Kori closed her eyes, and sobbed. As most of her true orange face was revealed by the heavy rain, leaving a few treads of pink. She turned away from Dick.

"Kori, wait…"

She looked back at him. "Why did you have to make me stay?" Hearing his silent response, she looked at her heavy, wet clothes, and levitated slowly upward, as Dick watched it wonder. She looked at him once more, with his sopping wet outfit and hair. "It would have been perfect… But you had to make me stay…" she said softly as she flew off into the distance, letting Dick watch her as she flew off into the distance.

The thunder flashed again, illuminating the entire city in a deep shade of orange.

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There we go people! Starfire is go! But what will Dick do about it? Dick makes an even bigger decision about Kori next chapter!  
Next:- The Shadows Lifted


	8. The Shadows Lifted

Alright. Chapter 8. More Dickori stuff, so you've been warned. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 8:- The Shadows Lifted**

Kori sat on the edge of the local Wayne Industries building, crying. Despite her orange skin and sopping wet outfit, she still looked radiant as the storm cleared and gave way to a calm, peaceful night. The huge Wayne Industries sign behind her lit up, reminding her of the owner's adopted son. The one she left soaking wet on the edge of the pizza restaurant about twenty minutes ago.

"This is the last place I expected to find you," came a voice from behind her.

Kori stood up alarmed, wiping the tears from her face, and beheld Robin the Boy Wonder, standing behind her. His hair was wet, as was his outfit, and it took away from the bright yellows, greens, and reds.

"You are Robin. The one Gar and Vic go on about constantly," said Kori.

Robin smiled. "Yes." He walked forward and sat down, letting his legs hang over the side of the building. "It is quite funny when you think about it."

Kori sat next to him. "What do you mean?"

"It's not important."

Kori bowed her head. "OK."

"It wasn't meant to be offensive, Kori."

"I am not Kori. Not like this," she said, looking down at her orange hands. "Like this, I am Starfire."

"Well, Starfire. I came here to say… I'm sorry."

"You do not make sense, Robin."

"I was foolish. I was trained by the world's greatest detective, and the detective side of me got the better of me… I felt like I needed to know. I became obsessed, and I didn't think what I'd do to you. I'm sorry."

"Robin, you are very nice and I am glad to have met you, but I do not know what you are talking about."

"Then maybe, I can't hide behind this mask for this. Maybe, I can't say this as Robin," Robin said, reaching for his mask, and taking it off, revealing his true face. "But as Dick Grayson."

"Dick?"

He nodded.

"You are Robin?"

"Always have been."

"Why?"

"It's a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yes."

"Three years ago, I was an acrobat. A member of a popular circus performing group known as the Flying Graysons," he turned out to face the dark sky. "Then, the accident happened. I lost my mother, my father, and two brothers in less than a minute. I despaired for days, my performances got progressively worse until the circus didn't want be anymore. They left me, all alone, with nothing, in the dark alleys of Gotham City. I lay in an alleyway, known now as Crime Alley, starving, cold, and full of grief, until I was found by a shadow. I was too weak to fight it. The shadow emerged from the dark sky and wrapped his heavy cloak around me. That shadow was the one they call 'Batman'. He took me to an adoption agency, where I was adopted by the billionaire Bruce Wayne," Dick continued, nodding back at the illuminated sign. "It was a method to bring more girls to his mansion I think, but he kept good care of me. I became healthy and managed to hone my acrobatic skills. When I was strong enough, I went out at night, and tracked down Batman, who once again took me in, and gave me the mantle of his sidekick, Robin. We worked together for three years, but as I grew older, I did not want to be hidden in Batman's shadow all my life. He suggested I come here, enroll in the boarding school, and protect this city at all costs. I did so, and here I am. The bird of the darkness. The wing of the night."

Kori was silent for a moment, until Dick turned to her. "I shouldn't have pushed you. I know how it is to keep a secret most of your life, and still I pushed," he bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

"There is nothing to apologize for, my friend."

Dick smiled, and leant forward, giving the orange girl a huge hug. When they pulled away, she leant into him as his arms encircled her, as he asked:

"So… Starfire, huh?"

"It is the honorary name that was bestowed upon me when I turned eleven. I prefer it to Koriand'r, but I had to come up with a reasonable name for this planet."

"Kori Anderstar…"

Starfire nodded. "Since you have told me everything, I will do the same. My name is Koriand'r, and I am the second daughter of the ruling family of Tamaran, but my heritage has been forgotten for a long time. My life has been complicated. Not in a long while have I been truly happy."

"Tell me, Star."

"My sister, Komand'r, was born defected. She did not have the ability to absorb the sun's energy and use it to fly. No-one knows why she could not, but she could not. When I was born, since I had that power, I was declared the heir to the Tamaranian throne, not Komand'r. She grew… angry, especially at me. Soon, she left Tamaran swearing vengeance upon its people. And for a time, I was happy. The people of Tamaran loved my family and me, and respected us. I became an idol, a celebrity. But soon Komand'r returned as the leader of a powerful race known as the Psions. She used a legendary gem of incredible power to gain control of them, and used them as pawns to attack Tamaran. She told my father… her father… that he had to hand me over to her as a slave, or she would kill every Tamaranian on Tamaran. My father had no choice, and he turned me over to her."

"Star…"

"Komand'r took me to a prison cell on a faraway planet, and was determined to transfer my power of flight to her using Psion technology. She tortured me with numerous needles and experiments until she succeeded, and when she did an odd side effect occurred. The power did not transfer as she expected, instead she gained it, and I kept it, and in addition, we both had the ability to convert sunlight into physical energy, which she nicknamed star bolts as a mockery of my bestowed name. I still use the term because I think it reflects their nature."

Starfire lifted her hand, and a green globe formed around it, lighting up the dark sky. Then she extinguished it, and continued.

"Komand'r nicknamed herself Blackfire, a mockery of my name and a reflection of her nature, much like her naming of star bolts. She planned to kill me then, and conquer Tamaran and rule it as she 'should have done'. But I was rescued by a man named 'Green Lantern', and Blackfire was taken before the Intergalactic Court, where she got away with her crimes by claiming to repent. I still do not where she is. I was offered the throne of Tamaran by my father, but I could not accept it. So, with my father's blessings, I came to Earth, to start a new life, and covering my alien heritage with cosmetics. "

She pulled away from Dick's arms, and looked him in the eye. "That is my story."

"No. That is your story so far."

"I do not understand."

"I have a feeling, Starfire. A feeling that you and me will do great things in our future and that we will many adventures together."

She leant back into his arms. "I hope so Robin."

Robin was silent for a moment. "Please don't tell anyone I'm Robin. Not even our friends."

She looked up at him. "Please do not tell them about me either."

"Deal."

Starfire stared out into the dark sky and Robin replaced his mask, and looked down at the beautiful girl in his arms. He could not resist kissing her on the forehead, to which she smiled and sighed in content.

"Everything will be perfect…" she said softly.

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Alright. A very flashbacky chapter but two of the Titans are set up. Now I have to finish the other three! But it only goes up from here!  
Next:- The Fate Of Garfield Logan


	9. The Fate Of Garfield Logan

With two of the Titans set up, it's time to set up another. Everyone please applaud the welcome return of Mr. Garfield Logan! Actually it isn't exactly a pleasant return so don't applaud. Stop it. Stop. I said stop. Aw… What's the point?

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**Chapter 9:- The Fate Of Garfield Logan**

As it is with schools, the news of Dick and Kori's date spread fast. In four days time, every person in the school knew of it. It was welcome however, as it added a little jollity that was missing due to Gar's absence.

Nearly a week had passed since his departure and everyone was wishing for his return. Raven, in particular, had changed in Gar's absence, and seem to lose her ability to smile. But then again, Gar was the only person who could ever make her smile in the first place.

On the Saturday, Vic had a track meet, and everyone attended. Jinx even became a temporary cheerleader for the event, and cheered for Vic harder than anyone else present. Dick and Kori had made a large sign saying 'GO QUICK VIC!' and hoisted it merrily, and almost everyone, except Raven, forgot about Gar's depressing absence. Vic won every race, except one, where he was beaten by a young boy from Keystone City by the name of Bart Allen.

The track meet ended and the friends were celebrating their friend's brilliant performance, when they were approached by Dr. Samuel Register.

"Excuse me. You are Gar's friends., correct?"

Dick turned and answered. "Yes… Dr. Register? You're not due back for another week and a half… Is Gar back?"

"In a matter of speaking…"

"What?" asked Raven.

"Gar is in the hospital."

Kori and Jinx gasped loudly.

"What?" exclaimed Vic.

"No…" said Dick.

"Gar…" whispered Raven.

"He is infected with a rare disease called Sakutia."

"Is there a cure?" asked Dick.

Dr. Register bowed his head. "No."

"Is there anything you can do?" asked Raven, a tone of anxiousness in her voice.

"I have given him experimental medicine to prevent contagion, but as of yet, no."

"Can we see him?" asked Vic.

"No. I have given him the medication, but he may still be contagious. I can't allow you to see him. I will not risk your lives as well."

"Lives?" added Jinx.

"I'm afraid so."

"What about his parents?" said Dick.

Dr. Register bowed his head again. "Dead. Both of them."

Everyone gasped again.

"What happened? Tell us everything," said Raven anxious.

Dr. Register looked at her, then started. "As you know we were in search of the legendary green ape. In three days, we found it. Gar and his mother, Marie climbed a tree, and set up a video camera, as me and Mark - his father - watched from inside a nearby bush. I don't how it did it. But the ape saw Gar and Marie and leaped towards them with feral hostility. Marie - God bless her soul - was knocked out of the tree trying to protect Gar. She broke her neck as she landed, and she died instantly. The ape attacked Gar, biting him on the waist. It probably would have killed Gar if Mark had not shot it several Dickes with his shotgun. He climbed the tree, and carried Gar down, as his son's body seized out of control.  
I administered the pills to Gar immediately, but it was too late, and Mark caught the virus. I brought them both back here to the local hospital, where I treated them myself. Yesterday, Mark died from a colossal seizure and heart failure. It's a wonder Gar has lasted this long."

Everyone stood in shock. Kori was certain she saw a tear trickle down Raven's face.

"I'm sorry," said Dr. Register. "I'm doing everything I can… I just felt you needed to know. You are after all, the closest thing he has to a family now."

Dr. Register was silent momentarily, then turned and walked away. Vic stood in shock, Dick also. Kori put her face in her hands, and Jinx stood in silence as a tear trickled down her face. Raven - her eyes wide and her breath coming in gasps - walked off into the distance.

"Raven?" called Dick and began to move after her until Vic stopped him.

"Don't, dude," he said. "She needs to be alone. Now more than ever." And they stood, in stunned silence as Raven disappeared into the shadows.

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Short and depressing chapter… Yay. Next:- Wrapped In The Raven's Wings


	10. Wrapped In The Raven's Wings

Alright, I really can't introduce this one. But I'm quite proud of it. DISCLAIMER:- I do not own 'Holy Water' by Big & Rich. I just used it in the fic because it seemed appropriate. And yes, I am aware that I changed the words slightly. I made it fit Gar who is a HE, not a SHE. Anyhoo, enjoy.

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**Chapter 10:- Wrapped In The Raven's Wings**

The hospital room was dark and quiet. A struggling Gar was gagged and strapped to an operating table in the center, surrounded by smaller tables containing various sharp objects.

A figure approached, emerging from the shadows. It came closer to the table, and flicked on the switch of a lamp.

"Why did the disease turn your hair, and skin green?" came the voice of Dr. Register, as he pulled the light, shining it into Gar's eyes. "Why did it not kill you?" he added as he watched Gar's green eyes, and the pupils within them shrink. "Only animals can survive it… Your father died immediately as the laws of natures told him to… But why? Why are you still alive?"

Dr. Register turned and picked up a syringe from one of the tables. "It must be inside of you. Somehow, the secret of the entire animal kingdom has been planted within you." Gar wriggled in protest, screaming under the gag.

Dr. Register plunged the needle into Gar's arm and sucked out a few ounces of blood. Gar groaned in pain as the blood trickled out his body. "And that secret should be mine! Mine alone!" He admired the blood for a couple moments, then plunged the syringe into his own arm.

He groaned, pulled out the needle and dropped it, making it shatter on the cold floor. He looked at a table full of instruments and took a sharp knife from it. "But that means… You must be disposed of." Gar wriggled harder.

"The secrets of Mother Nature herself. All mine!" Dr. Register brandished the knife. "Forever!" he said evilly and plunged the knife down, toward Gar's heart.

Gar closed his eyes, waiting to receive the blow. But it never came. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Dr. Register cowering back in shock and horror as the knife hung in the air, suspended by a black bubble.

A girl stepped out of the shadows. "Get away from him," came Raven's voice.

Dr. Register grabbed another knife and charged Raven with a animalistic yell. Raven raised her hand in response.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!"

Dr. Register was flung back against the wall, pinned by a black disc. A second later, the knife shot into the wall, pinning his coat to the wall. Another second and twenty more knives and syringes did a similar thing.

Raven walked up to Gar, and stood in shock at his new appearance. Green hair, green skin, and his fingers were become spiked, like claws. Then she came to her senses and undid his gag.

"Gar, you alright?"

"No…" he answered weakly.

"I'm getting you out of here." She held up her hand, and black magic clung to it. Then the straps and locks that bound Gar sprung loose, and he sat up. She turned and gestured with her hand, black magic still clinging to it, and a stretcher flew over. "Come on."

Gar climbed pathetically onto the stretcher, and collapsed, shivering with cold. Raven walked over to the window, the stretcher following her obediently.

"You don't understand…" Dr. Register muttered as Raven passed him. She looked at him, and saw the purple scales begin to sprout over his face. "He's the key."

"He's my friend," replied Raven, as she commanded the stretcher to float out the window. Then, she followed it. Dr. Register bowed his head in defeat.

_Somewhere there's a stolen halo._

_I used to watch him where it well._

Raven set the stretcher down on a nearby rooftop and she bent over his face, looking into his eyes.

"Gar, talk to me."

_Everything would shine. Wherever he would go._

_But looking at him now, you'd never tell._

"They're dead… My parents are dead…"

_Someone ran away with his innocence._

"I'm going to die…"

_A memory he can't get out of his head._

"Oh, God… I've lost everything…"

_I can only imagine what he's feeling when he's praying._

_Kneeling at the edge of his bed._

"Everything's gone… Everything."

_And he says. Take me away._

_And take me farther._

Raven ran a finger down his face. "I'm here Gar."

_Surround me now._

Gar whimpered and reached his hand around her neck. "You're here."

_And hold., hold, hold me._

He pulled her downwards into an embrace. He squeezed her with every drop of strength he could muster and held her in the dark.

_Like holy water._

She slipped her arms around his back and pulled him into a sitting position. He slumped forward weakly into her, and she wrapped his arms around him.

"I'll always be here."

_He just needs a little help. To wash away the pain he's felt._

The raindrops fell like tears around them, and the giant black bird enshrouded them both, standing as a guard between them and the outside world.

_He wants to feel the healing hands of someone who understands._

"Thank you… Raven," Gar said weakly.

_And he says. Take me away._

_And take me farther._

"Call me Rae," she replied softly.

_Surround me now._

_And hold, hold, hold me._

He smiled weakly, before closing his eyes, and falling asleep in her arms. And she sat there, letting him rest in her arms, as the rain fell down and the night lingered in the air. Together, they sat there, frozen in time.

And wrapped in the Raven's wings.

_Like holy water._

_Like holy water._

_Like holy water._

_Holy water._

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sob I really am quite fond of that chapter. Anyway, life goes on. But wait… Raven has powers too???? fake gasp  
Next:- Crouching Monster, Hidden Past. (Sorry --- I couldn't resist)


	11. Crouching Monster, Hidden Past

OK --- Despite a really crappy name, this chapter kinda goes into Raven's past. You've been warned.

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**Chapter 11:- Crouching Monster, Hidden Past**

Raven gently lay Gar down on the stretcher again, and checked his forehead. He was blistering hot, beads of sweat were trickling down his face. She might be able to reduce the fever with her magic, but there was no way she could cure the disease, or even stop the major symptoms from occurring. She couldn't do anything. This had become his fight to win.

She thought for a moment, then decided and repeated her magic words. The stretcher floated into the air and followed her obediently as she flew through the air. Soon they came to the abandoned tool shed outside the back of school. No-one had used it for years because a better one had been made out front.

She landed in front of the shed and unlocked the door using magic, she opened it the old fashioned way and summoned the stretcher inside. Realizing that dawn was breaking, she closed the door and locked it again and hoped no-one saw them coming in.

Gar moaned softly.

"Gar. You awake?"

Gar nodded.

"I've brought you to the old school shed. No-one will think to look for you here."

"What if they do?"

"They won't get far," said Raven, her eyes faintly glowing red.

"How could you do that Rae?"

"Do what?"

"All those… things you did."

She walked over to him and sat down next to where he lay, as he sat up next to her. "It's a long and depressing story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Gar nodded.

"Well. I better start at the beginning. There was… is… a demon named Trigon. He was considered to be one of the most powerful residents of the demon world. So powerful, that a church was founded upon the worship of him. It was called the Church Of Blood, and it was led by the deadly Brother Blood. There was another rank in this church known as Mother Mayhem. My mother was the first Mother Mayhem.

"Soon, in one of the church's ritual, my mother called upon the presence of Trigon himself, supposedly summoned to plant his seed of destruction in the world. My mother was deceived however, and after unwillingly finding… intimacy with Trigon, she became pregnant with his child."

Gar gasped. "You're the daughter of a demon?"

Raven nodded. "Soon after the event my mother fled the Church Of Blood, she wandered the worlds for eight months, until she was by one of the Forces Of Azar, a group of soldiers and magicians from Azarath. She was taken in, forgiven for her sins, and she gave birth to me in the peaceful land of Azarath. I was named Raven, for the bird was said to be 'a misunderstood dove hidden within a harsh exterior'.

"Aware of my need to protect myself, the Forces Of Azar had me trained in many forms of magic from an early age. But, due to demonic heritage, I could not use many forms of the magic, such as holy magic - the most common form, I was however considered incredibly proficient with black magic."

She lifted her hand and summoned the magic. It clung to her hands like electricity, and the air fizzed around it.

Raven continued, "Somehow, the Church Of Blood discovered my mother's whereabouts. On my thirteenth birthday, Azarath was attacked, not only by the forces of Blood, but by Trigon himself.

"Trigon attacked us first, my mother tried to protect me with her crude forms of magic, but she failed and was instantly killed by Trigon. He attacked me, I tried to protect myself, but he was so strong, my magic was defeated in seconds. But fortunately, twenty elder members of the Forces Of Azar, with their powerful magic, rescued me and destroyed Trigon - but everyone of them perished in that battle. That is how powerful Trigon is.

"I escaped to Earth, but I discovered that when Trigon died, he sent his soul-self into me. I had to wrestle him in the corridors of my own mind to keep control of myself. I found whenever I felt powerful emotion, anger in particular, he could take over."

"So that's why you never smile…"

Raven nodded. "If I remain without emotion, I remain in control and Trigon stays in here." She tapped her head twice.

"The high-security prison…"

Raven nodded.

"I'm sorry, Rae. Compared to your life… Mine doesn't seem all that bad. But you better get to class."

Raven nodded and got up.

"Thank you for listening Gar."

"Thank you for saving my life."

"I owed you for the Rancid thing."

"This is a little bigger than that."

"Black magic is a little bigger than a ball of spit."

Gar smiled, then suddenly his eyes widened in pain, and he reached up and grabbed his head, ruffling up his green hair.

"Gar what's wrong?"

Gar groaned and yelled. Raven stood in shock as she saw his entire skin wriggle, like a thousand worms crawled underneath the surface.

"Gar?"

Gar continued to groan and yell in pain, as hair sprouted out from his skin. His hands became paws, his teeth and ears lengthened, he grew a tail.

"What's… happening… to… ?" Gar groaned, but his sentence was cut short as his voice turned into a ferocious roar.

Raven took a step backward. "Gar?" The green tiger that stood where Gar had moments before nodded his massive feline head and looked at its paw.

"I think I better skip class today," she added.

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Alright… Chap.11 complete. I know this one went on about Raven's past a lot, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Next:- The Secrets Of Static (Don't worry --- Static Shock won't come into it. I hate that guy.)


	12. The Secrets Of Static

Ok. Here we go… More stuff for the Robin fanatics. (Like my good friend Turq. Hello if you're reading this.)

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**Chapter 12:- The Secrets Of Static**

At lunch, Dick, Kori, Vic and Jinx sat at their table. They still grieved for Gar, and the odd disappearance of Raven did not lighten their spirits.

The dorky looking boy came with a newspaper for Raven, but he handed it to Dick in Raven's absence. No-one else had any letters.

Dick looked at the newspaper's headline. DOCTOR GOES INSANE. He picked it up and read the first line.

"Guys…"

"What?" asked Vic.

"Listen to this," said Dick, reading the newspaper aloud. "Dr. Samuel Register, who currently possesses two PhDs for biological sciences, was found in a hospital room pinned to the wall by many of his own surgical knives and syringes. When he was discovered he was sprouting purple scales from head to toe, a major symptom of a disease known as Sakutia, and rambling on like mad man about a witch dressed in black and a key to the animal world. Since there is no known cure for Sakutia, Register is being kept in Lake City hospital where his colleagues are working on a cure. Specialists have been called in from Metropolis and Keystone to work on the cure. The patient Register was treating, a Mr. Garfield Logan - a local school boy - had also been diagnosed with Sakutia and is currently missing, presumed dead. But how Register was pinned to a wall, and what drove him insane is a mystery L.C.P.D. detectives are still trying to solve as well as Logan's whereabouts."

"Damn it," said Vic.

Kori bowed her head in grief and started to mutter something in another tongue.

"Victor!" came a gaspyvoice from the doorway.

Vic spun around and saw an old African American man, standing in the doorway. He got up, went over to him and hugged him. It was all very formal, and unnatural.

They pulled away. "What are you doing here Dad?"

"They called me in to work on the Sakutia cure…"

"I see. Then you better get to the hospital, I guess."

"Actually I must see the principal… But I wanted to see my son first."

Vic smiled. "I'll see you later then."

"Yes. Goodbye," and with that he walked away.

Vic walked back to the table.

"That was all very serious," said Jinx.

"It always is with my father."

"Why?"

"We never get on. He wants me to be a science teacher or something when all I want to do is play football…"

Jinx smiled painfully and patted her friend on the back.

Dick stood up. "Well I've got stuff to do. See you guys later."

Kori stood up. "Dick. Please allow me to come with you."

"OK. C'mon."

Minutes later, Starfire were speeding between the rooftops, and Robin was swinging gracefully beside her.

"Where are we heading Robin?"

"The hospital. The third up on the right."

Robin fired a rope towards a building edge and swung toward the building, then completely let go of his rope and caught the window, landing gracefully. He opened the window, let Starfire fly in, then jumped in himself and closed the window.

"What are we looking for?" asked Starfire.

Robin put a finger to his lips. "I need to know if Register's telling the truth." He walked over to the area where the knife holes were and fingered the holes. He walked around the room and saw the knives in plastic baggies on a table near the doorway. He went over and shined an ultraviolet light on them, and saw nothing. "Either the culprit used special gloves that don't leave residue… or he didn't touch these knives at all."

Robin examined the door and saw the heavy locks on the side. "Premium LexCorp locks. Near impossible to break through on the wrong side of the door."

He went over to the window and examined it with his ultraviolet light as well. Once again, nothing. "How did the culprit escape with touching the window?" He glanced over at the stretchers. One was missing. "Whoever did this took Gar with them. Probably alive."

He walked over to the stretchers and looked at it, then noticed the hair on his arm standing on end. "Static electricity."

He pulled out one of the hairs from his head, and held it close to where the missing stretcher would have been, then let go. The hair flew and clung to the place.

"Gotcha," Robin said, pulling out another hair and examining the knives with the same method, and the same results. He walked to the window, the hair was attracted again. He opened the window, and let go of the hair and it floated off into the air, attracted by the static.

Robin reached up for more hair, then changed his mind and grabbed a rubber glove, inflated it, tied a knot in the end, and let it go. It floated in the same path as the hair did, except the glove was a lot more visible.

"Let's go Star," said Robin, jumping out the window and firing a rope. Starfire flew out the window, very confused.

"Robin, what are we doing?" asked as Robin ran along the rooftops as she flew next to him.

"However the culprit is doing the things he does, he's leaving behind a trail of static, the balloon, and my hair, clings to. Assuming he used his power all the way to his destination, probably have to because he took the stretcher, the balloon with cling to the static and take us all the way to where he's hiding Gar."

A couple minutes of following the balloon and they found themselves of the roof of their own school, the balloon clinging to the door of the old abandoned shed out back.

"He's in there," said Robin.

"Then let us go get him," said Starfire, taking off.

Robin grabbed her leg. "Wait." He pointed at the black-garbed girl running towards the shed, holding food in her hands. "Why is Raven here? And why does she have food?"

Robin scowled. "It's her. She's our culprit. She wasn't trying to kidnap Gar, she was trying to save him from something." He turned to Starfire. "Let's get down there as Dick and Kori. It'll be easier to confront her like that."

"Yes, Robin. But we must hurry."

"Why?"

"Because someone else is about to confront her."

Robin glanced down at Raven. It was then he saw Johnny Rancid coming up behind her, smiling evilly.

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Here we go gang. Time for some action next chapter methinks! Next:- When Titans Clash


	13. When Titans Clash

No introduction required. Read on!

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**Chapter 13:- When Titans Clash**

"Bloodhound," muttered Gar, and instantly he felt his body change into that of a bloodhound's. He paced around the shed a bit, then turned back to his human form. "Alligator," he said, and his body transformed again. From alligator, to pelican. From pelican, to cat. From cat, to horse. From horse, to bat. From bat, to his human form. Gar looked at his hands and saw the worms wriggle under his skin, and smiled.

Outside, Raven approached the shed with a load of food under her arm. She saw the inflated rubber glove clinging to the door, and remained still momentarily, and looked around. No-one in front, to the side, or above. She turned to check behind her and got a face full of Johnny Rancid's rancid breath.

Johnny grabbed the food. "You brought me a present. How kind of you Goth chick."

Raven took a step backward. "I heard you're boyfriend's dead. No-one's gonna protect you now." He made a grab for her cloak and pulled her towards him. The food fell onto the ground. "You're mine for the taking."

The crowd gathered. Raven's eyes glowed blood red and Johnny saw.

"What the hell are you?"

Raven snarled.

"I don't date freaks. But I'll send you to see your boyfriend anyway." Johnny drew back his fist.

"Get away from her!" came a yell.

"No… Gar…" whispered Raven. Johnny dropped her and turned to the green boy who stood in the doorway of the shed. The crowd gasped.

"You're green? Hah! You really are a beast boy! No worries! You'll pay for what you did last time!" Johnny yelled and charged at Gar. But Gar shrunk to a lizard, and Johnny ran headfirst into the shed door.

"What the hell?" added Johnny as the lizard turned into a green wolf and pounced on him, jaws snapping. "Holy crap!" yelled Johnny. The crowd gasped and scattered in fear.

The green wolf transformed into a llama and spat a gigantic wad of saliva into Johnny's face. Johnny tried to throw punches, but the llama became a budgie and Johnny missed every punch he threw. Vic, Dick, Kori, and Jinx ran up to Raven.

The budgie became an ape and grabbed Johnny around the feet and swung him round in circles before flinging him onto the roof. Then the ape turned back into the green Garfield Logan and looked at his friends.

"Gar? You're alive? And green?" said Jinx in astonishment.

Vic's father ran up alongside the principal, Mr. Sebastian, followed by armed members of the L.C.P.D. "That's him. The Logan boy. Douse him," Vic's father yelled.

"GAR! GET OUT OF HERE!" yelled Raven. Gar leaped up and transformed into a dragonfly and sped off into the open sky.

"SHOOT HIM!" yelled Vic's father.

Vic ran up to his father, Jinx behind him. "What are you doing?"

"He can change into animals son! Think of the things S.T.A.R. could do with that power!"

"He's my friend!"

"He's a freak and he needs to be studied!"

Vic grabbed his father by the collar menacingly. Every gun in the hands of a police officer turned on him. He let his father go reluctantly.

"Find the boy," said Vic's father. "And get the girl who was protecting him too."

The police officers scattered around the area whilst Vic and his father snarled at each other.

Raven ran as fast as she could away from the scene until she felt two hands grab her and turn her around. It was Dick, Kori just behind him.

"Where's Gar?"

Raven stayed silent.

"Raven! Where's Gar?"

"Leave it Dick."

"Show me how to find him," Dick said menacingly.

Raven was silent.

"I can help him!"

At Dick's words, she remembered Gar's treatment in the hospital, Dr. Register's words, Mr. Stone's words. Raven saw the police officers fan out around them and level their guns. She closed her eyes, and had a burst of black magic expel from her, throwing Dick and Kori backward, through the air and onto the ground.

"I won't let anyone else hurt him."

The police officers fired, but their bullets bounced harmlessly off the black magic screen Raven summoned in front of her. She looked skyward, and in the form of a giant black bird, she flew upward and into the horizon.

"Regroup. Fan into the city," yelled the lead police officer. The policemen disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Kori got up first and helped Dick up. "I believe my friend, it is time to go."

Dick nodded.

Gar was crouching the 'W' of the Wayne Industries building when Raven found him.

"Rae? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. You?"

"Fine."

"You can control it then."

"Yes."

She looked down on the ground at watched two police cars speed past. "We have to get out of here."

"Duh."

"Good to see you're back to your old self."

"Thanks."

They both heard the sound of someone landing behind them and span around at the same time. What they saw was Robin squatting on the roof, holding his staff defensively and an familiar looking orange girl floating just off the edge.

"Robin…" muttered Gar.

"Mr. Stone is…" started Robin.

"You're working for him!" yelled Raven, letting the black magic flow. The letters of 'WAYNE' flew upward and shot toward Robin. He hit the 'W' with his staff deflecting it harmlessly, then spun around and struck the 'A' instantly breaking it in two. He jumped, landing on the 'Y', flipping onto the 'N', then jumping onto the 'E' and off, to land a graceful, yet powerful, kick to Raven's jaw. She fell onto the ground, clutching her face, as Robin leapt down beside her and placed his staff to her throat.

"I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to help you."

The green lion collided into Robin, and flung him to the ground. The Boy Wonder defended all the blows from the lion's gnashing teeth and slashing claws as they rolled along the rooftop fighting.

Starfire let loose with her star bolts and the lion jumped off Robin to avoid them. It landed next to the - now standing - Raven, where it quickly changed back into Gar.

Robin stood up, leveled his staff and wielded it offensively. Starfire's eyes glowed green and green globes encircled her hands.

Gar morphed his arm into that of a giant crab's and wielded it offensively. Raven's eyes glowed red and black globes encircled her hands.

They stood in a face off. Ready for anything. A titan of nature versus a titan of humanity. A titan of darkness versus a titan of light.

"Bring it on…" muttered Gar.

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Alright. End chapter. Problem is... I posted all of the first 13 chapters at the same time... so now I have to go ahead and write the fourteenth... and I don't what to call it... I'll get it done soon so ... Bye.


	14. Loss

Firstly… I would like to thank everyone who took the time to review me. Thank you all… you have encouraged me to keep writing… not only this story, but more following… So thank you. 

Now that the formalities are dealt with… Onward!

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**Chapter 14:- Loss**

"There's no sign of the boy, sir," said the lead officer.

Mr. Stone snarled. "And the girl?"

"No, sir."

"Damn it!" Mr. Stone yelled, slamming his fist down on the hood of his limousine. "What the heck do I pay you people for?"

The officer was silent.

"Find them. At all costs."

"Yes, sir," the officer said clearly before running off.

Mr. Stone looked at the hood of his limo in frustration. "Wilson!"

A large man walked up. He stood about six foot two, with a muscular frame and sharp glaring eyes. "Yes, sir?"

"We're going back to Metropolis," he glanced back at Vic, who pushed Jinx behind him. "Bring my son."

Wilson nodded and walked towards Vic. "Get in the car."

Vic remained silent as Wilson popped his knuckles menacingly. Mr. Stone climbed into the back seat of his limo and observed the vents from the window.

Vic took a step forward, but Jinx grabbed onto his arms with both her hands. "Don't leave me Vic…"

Vic turned to face her. She wore far too much pink, but other than that, she really was incredibly beautiful. He looked her straight in the eye. "I have to…"

"Let me come with you."

"No. Wait here for the others. Then do everything you can to help Gar."

"But…"

Vic glanced back to see if Wilson was out of earshot. He wasn't, so he lowered his voice to a whisper and took Jinx's hand. "I'll stall my father. I know how he thinks. Just be careful. Stay out of harm's way."

"But…"

Wilson popped his knuckles for a second time. Vic turned towards the car. Wilson held the door open for him, he bent over to clamber in when Jinx yelled his name. She ran over to him, and kissed him hard and quick.

Wilson coughed loudly and obviously.

"Stay safe. I'll come back for you," added Vic as he clambered into the car, next to his father. Wilson slammed the door shut, and walked passed Jinx shoving her with his shoulder. He walked around the back of the car, and glared at her. Then , without taking his sharp eyes off her, he slowly opened the door, before climbing in.

Jinx felt the shiver run down her spine from his cold glare.

The limo's engine revved momentarily, then it shot off into the distance leaving Jinx alone in the school grounds.

"There, there," came a raspy voice from behind her. She span around, and saw Mr. Sebastian, the principal, standing calmly, his gray hair, rustling slightly in the wind. "Everything is not lost. Come with me."

Jinx felt a force inside her head, a dark, powerful force. She grasped her head in pain, and fell to her knees and screamed. She looked up at the principal, and saw his eyes glow a deep shade of red.

Her fingers unclasped themselves. The force inside her mind penetrated her every thought, her every hope, her every dream.

She had no choice. She gave in to it, and it flooded her brain with a million miraculous images. New hopes, new dreams, new thoughts entered her mind, morphing her desires and every fabric of her being.

She felt a deep burning in her eyes, as they glowed the same shade of red as the principal that stood over her, and Jinx had no choice but to close her eyes, her mind and her heart, never to open them again.

"Stand up my child," said the principal. Jinx's body obeyed. "Now, come with me and serve me."

"Yes…" Jinx said in a drawling undertone, before following the principal into the school as obediently as a dog does its owner.

The limo neared the outskirts of Metropolis. Wilson sat opposite the Stones, who had not said a word to each other the entire journey and both wore large scowls on their faces.

"Are you not going to talk to me the entire time son?" asked Mr. Stone.

"Yep," answered Vic.

"Not even to question my motives?"

"Nope."

"To ask why I brought you along?"

"Nope."

Mr. Stone sighed, and pressed a button on his armrest. "Driver. Speed up."

In the front cabin, the driver obeyed and pushed his foot down on the accelerator. The limo sped up, causing several cars to honk at it as it sped past them on the highway. They had just gone past the Daily Planet building, when the huge LexCorp tanker pulled out in front of them.

The driver slammed on the brakes, causing the limo to swerve, and it slammed into a streetlight, knocking it over and flinging the limo through the air.

"Grab onto something!" yelled Wilson in a tone that would Batman jump.

The limo collided into the top of the LexCorp tanker, upside down. The steel coating of the tanker and the roof of the limo shattered like glass, revealing the green acidic substance inside the massive tanker.

Wilson hung onto one of the door handles and Vic did the same. Mr. Stone fell out of his seat, towards the acid, but was caught by Vic by the hem of his shirt. His feet hung millimeters above the surface of the stinking acid.

The driver fell, and was submerged completely in the substance as he uttered a muffled scream. He surfaced once splashing about and screaming maniacally, and remained there just long enough for the others to see, the acid burning through his skin, corroding it like salt does a slug.

The splashed acid, sprayed upwards towards the three, burning holes in their clothes. A lone drop of acid leaped upward at Wilson, and entered his right eye, as the huge muscled man screamed. Vic glanced quickly at him and saw his eyeball melted away, as the blood trickled down his face like tears.

The driver's face melted like butter and sunk, submerged in the abyss of the tanker.

Vic struggled to keep a hold of his father's shirt. "Wilson! Can you grab my father if I pull him up?"

Wilson nodded, the blood making him look even more scarier than he already did.

Vic nodded back, and yelled in effort as he pulled his father up with one arm, and took both of their weights with the other hanging onto the door handle.

He lifted him up, and Wilson reached down and grabbed him, as Mr. Stone fumbled for a handhold.

Vic glanced over at them, sweat beaded on his face.

Then, the door handle snapped off, the plastic shattering. Vic yelled in terror, as he fell into the green acid in the tanker.

The red streak slammed through the tanker walls, and cut through the acid like a knife. It grabbed Vic and burst out the other side, then flew back, ripped open the limo's side and grabbed Mr. Stone and Wilson.

Superman set Mr. Stone and Wilson on the ground, then lay Vic on the ground. He quickly turned and welded the holes he had created shut with his heat vision. Before turning back to Vic, the acid had burnt most of his clothes off, and the skin on his arms, legs, and chest looked shriveled and burnt. Half the skin on his face was the same way, the left side of his face the only part of him that had not been destroyed by the acid. With his eye, he looked feebly up at his savior.

Mr. Stone kneeled next to his son. "Vic?"

Vic looked at him, then his pupils dilated, and his eyelids shut.

Superman sighed. "His heart has stopped beating. I'm sorry." He stood up, his cape blowing in the wind. He flew towards the tanker and lifted it above his head before flying off into the horizon.

Mr. Stone wept over Vic's body. Wilson put a hand on his back. "Sir?"

Mr. Stone stood up and turned to Wilson. "Get him to my lab."

"Sir?"

"No-one takes my son from me. Get him to my lab!"

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Chapter 15 is almost finished, so it should be posted very soon! Next:- Father And Son


	15. Father And Son

Alright. Once again, thank you to everybody who reviewed. But why the heck am I wasting words with formalities when there's a story to tell? Huh? Ever onward my friends! And itit just me or does my font change every time? Bloody thing... Oh well... Enjoy!

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**Chapter 15:- Father And Son**

Gar swung first, his massive green crab arm slashing through the air, whistling as the air rushed through it. Robin dodged it with ease, back flipped over Gar and kicked him hard in the back with both feet, before landing perfectly.

"Why are you doing this?" said Robin, without taking his eyes off the prone Gar.

"To stop you," said Raven, unleashing two slashes of black magic in his direction. Robin was caught off-guard, and was pinned against the ground next to Gar.

"Not what I mean," added Robin, slightly annoyed.

"To protect my friend," shot Raven, blocking Starfire's bolts with a black magic shield. Robin grunted loudly and burst out of his prison.

"At the cost of your other friends?" he shot back, spinning his staff and posing offensively in an attempt to unnerve Raven.

Raven frowned with irritation. This guy was far too good at coming up with awkward questions, and he would have looked rather terrifying if it weren't for the ridiculous outfit. Another standoff occurred. Gar leapt to his feet, and shifted into a tiger, growling ferociously. Starfire stopped her onslaught against Raven and floated elegantly behind Robin.

"They wanted to hand him over to S.T.A.R.," Raven said slowly.

"No, they never…"

Raven interrupted. "I've been through a lot in my life, but I won't let them do those things to Gar again. They… They…" She bowed her head and scowled with frustration before looking up directly at Robin. "I won't let them," her eyes glowed a deep shade of red.

"I WON'T LET THEM!" she yelled, in a deep menacing voice that wasn't her own as she flew forward directly at Robin. He attempted to stop her with his staff, but she broke it in two with her magic. Black magic tore at the air around him, he could feel the static electricity frying his arm hairs and the magic itself tearing his clothes and his skin. Robin was flung to the ground, and Starfire - who feebly attempted to rescue her companion - was trapped in a cocoon of black magic. Raven descended upon Robin, revealing two vicious fangs in her mouth as her eyes glowed deep red.

The green tiger tackled Raven, and they rolled wildly across the roof. The black magic holding Starfire dissipated and she fell with a groan to the floor.

"This isn't you Rae!" yelled Gar shifting back to his human form. "It's that emotion!"

Raven grunted and struggled.

"Don't let it control you!"

Raven's body seized up momentarily, and the red glow in her eyes faded back to the normal indigo. Gar clambered upward and helped her up. She breathed heavily, her voice raspy, her body weak. "Thank you Gar."

Gar nodded, turned and looked at Robin… and saw the face behind his torn mask.

"Dick?" he muttered.

Robin clutched at his torn mask, then gave up and nodded.

Gar adjusted his view to look at Starfire. "Kori?"

Starfire nodded weakly.

Gar was silent for a moment before he boomed with laughter. "Good Lord! My three best friends are freakin' superheroes!" He ran up and hugged them both.

Raven stood in shock. "So you weren't…?"

"No, Rae," answered Robin. "We never were."

"I'm sorry…"

"What for, my friend?" added Starfire in her ridiculously optimistic tone.

"You've got some explaining to do," said Gar, pointing at Robin.

"We all do," Robin answered. "But we'll do that on the way."

"And where exactly are we going?" asked Raven.

"We need help. On a much bigger scale."

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The four of them stood in a dark room. Robin had told them to come here, after getting instruction from a communicator hidden in the 'R' badge on his costume. Gar knew they were definitely somewhere in Gotham City, probably in the west end, but he had no clue exactly where he was.

But there was something more about this room. It had eyes. Deep, observant eyes. He could feel them on his face, and it sent deep shivers down his spine.

"We're not alone," said Raven, her voice cutting through the silence. "There's a mental imprint… to our left."

"I hate telepaths," said a deep, menacing voice from their right.

Everyone spun to try and see the voice and saw nothing but shadows, except Robin (who had since got a new change of clothes and staff), who held his ground, like he knew he wouldn't see anything.

"What are you doing back in Gotham City?" said the voice, this time from the back.

"I need help," said Robin.

"With what?"

"We need a safe place to hide Gar…"

"Gar?" the voice interrupted as it came from the left of them.

"Garfield M. Logan. The green one."

"The Changeling," said Gar.

Robin turned to him. "What?"

"I need a cool name. I can't be called 'the green one' all my life, so I'm calling myself Changeling. Do you like it?"

"No," came the voice.

Gar scowled.

"What Changeling? How about Beast Boy?" suggested Raven.

"That's what Rancid called me…"

"Exactly. Show him you're not afraid of his threats."

Gar nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah… Yeah… Beast Boy. I like it."

"Whatever," said the voice from behind him.

Robin changed the subject. "We have to hide him. Stone from S.T.A.R. Labs is attempting to use his D.N.A. to create new military technology."

Now words came from the shadows. Just silence. Robin took a deep breath.

A yell of effort came from Robin's four o'clock. The boy wonder span perfectly, and held up his staff in defense. A sharp piece of black metal in the shape of a bat cut through the air and embedded itself in his staff. In response, he took one of his own bird-a-rangs and threw it back at his attacker.

Everyone gasped, and took their offensive stances as they saw the bright yellow object stop in mid-air. Robin smiled.

Something stepped out of the shadows. A man dressed in black and gray with a heavy cloak, holding the bird-a-rang in his gloved hand, a large bat emblem was painted on his chest.

"Batman," muttered Gar.

"Father…" added Robin, bowing slightly.

"I hate it when you call me that," said Batman addressing Robin and Robin alone. "We can hide him in a abandoned building outside town. No one will look there, I'll be sure of it. But who are the other two?"

"Oh," exclaimed Robin. "This is Koriand'r, or Starfire, of the planet Tamaran, and Raven…" He turned to Raven. "What is your second name?"

"Don't have one," she replied.

"Then you must be from Azarath," said Batman in a monotone that was more consistent and scary than hers.

"How did you…?"

"Only three cultures do not use family names or references in their names. One is a world where its habitants are green and resemble slimy elephants. You are not one of them. Another are the Amazons, and the third is the Azarathians. Judging by your controversial dress code, you are no Amazon, leaving that you must be from Azarath."

Raven and Gar stood in shock. Robin shook his head and smiled.

"But Azarath is a secret place. How do you know…?"

"Been there."

Raven's jaw dropped.

"Twice."

After the silence that followed, Batman turned to Robin. "Now. Put your friends' eyes back in their sockets and let's go."

Batman stalked out of the room, Robin following. Raven and Starfire shortly after them. Gar lagged behind, just for a moment.

Robin called back mockingly, "Hey 'Beast Boy,' ya coming?"

Gar scowled, then realized he was alone and scurried to catch up with the others.

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OK… With Gar and the others under Batman's protection, what will Mr. Stone's next move be? Let me tell you something --- It'll be more drastic than ever! It's almost finished... so...  
Next:- Heroes Aren't Born, They're Made


	16. Heroes Aren't Born, They're Made

Ok --- I'm back from the dead. Sorry about the wait. I'll make it up to all of you with two chapters… Think of it as an early Christmas gift from me. Little piece of backstage info:- I wanted to call this chapter 'The Fate Of Victor Stone' because it mirrors 'The Fate Of Garfield Logan,' but then I thought of this title and decided it was a hundred times better. So… Oh! And once again I must apologize in advance for the bad Angelina Jolie crack. ONWARD! 

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**Chapter 16:- Heroes Aren't Born, They're Made.**

The blackness slowly faded away.

Victor felt his heavy eyelid open slowly and the world around him came into focus. He was strapped to an upright metal bed with 3 solid steel bands around his neck, waist, and knees. He was in a room, filled with an odd mix of medical equipment and shop tools. He couldn't move his arms or his legs and his entire body felt twenty times heavier than it should have been.

Then he heard a slight hum, and felt a small jolt of electricity rush through his body. And in the blink of his eye, everything changed.

Green circles covered his vision, circling every object in the room, along with statistics, words and other useless data. A mechanical voice echoed in his head.

"Black & Decker chainsaw. Seventh model. Made in Taiwan. Max speed of 170 miles per hour at 250 revs per minute. Runs on unleaded and leaded fuel. Fatal if used effectively. Threat level: Intermediate."

Vic felt his neck twitch, and immediately shook his head in disbelief.

"Phillips screwdriver. Twenty-first model. Made in the United States. Cross-head tip with a diameter of 6 millimeters. Length of six and a half inches. Hardly any penetration. Threat level: Zero."

Vic yelled out, willing the voice out of his head.

"Standard N.H.S. Defibrillator. Second model. Made in Great Britain. Maximum voltage of 350 volts. Possible system overload if used correctly. Threat level: Major."

Vic's head ached with pain, he made to grasp his head, bursting through the solid steel bands that held him in place. He put his hands on his head, and felt skin with one hand, and steel with the other. He stopped yelling, and looked in horror at his hands. He stared at two enormous metal fists, his wrist covered in dials and meters, and a blue light issuing from his entire forearm.

"Nooo!" he yelled, his voice barbaric in tone.

Mr. Stone burst through the door. "Vic?" he said anxiously. "What's wrong?"

"What the hell have you done to me? And why is there a voice in my head that sounds like Angelina Jolie?"

"I saved you, Vic…"

"What?"

"You died, Vic. Now you are reborn," he hit a button on the nearby wall and the remaining two belts that strapped Vic in place retracted immediately. Vic walked over to the mirror that his father indicated. "As something much more."

Vic stared in horror as he beheld what he had become a hideous fusion of man and machine. His entire body was robotic with the exceptions of about half of his face and small parts of his arms. Blue lights illuminated his entire body and a robotic red eye glowed on the robotic side of his face.

"I gave you all of the latest equipment…" Mr. Stone said excitedly. "Top of the line in bionic technology. Your biological muscles were deteriorating, so I lined them with steel fiber optics that shoot electrical signals into them. As a result, your reactions are ten times quicker and you can lift about three-hundred times your original carrying capacity."

Vic continued to stare in the mirror.

"Plus I've installed brand new sonic technology into your arm, basically allowing you to transform your forearm into a powerful sonic cannon. Which in turn can unleash a beam that creates a thirty-thousand decibel pulse, capable of making anything vibrate to such an extent they literally destroy themselves. And, of course, there's an easy way to tone down the decibel rate."

"Why did you do this to me?"

"Oh and I've installed missile packs into your shoulder plates, and an extendable chainsaw into your right arm."

"SHUT UP DAD!!!" Vic yelled turning to his father.

Mr. Stone immediately stopped talking about Vic's new body and asked quietly: "Why are you mad son? Look at what I've done to you. Not only did I give you a second chance in life… but I've also given you an incredible body that you could battle Superman with!"

"Is that what this about?" yelled Vic angrier than ever. "I'm supposed to be your frickin' bodyguard from all the dangerous superheroes? So you don't have to keep a piece of kryptonite in your desk drawer for when he comes to shut your god-dang corrupt organization down for good? Huh?"

Vic paused, just for a moment, then continued. "No… This was so I could see my son again…" He reached up for Vic's face in an affectionate gesture.

"Don't give me all that crap Dad!" Vic walked away from his father and to the middle of the room before turning back to his father. "Tell me, Dad. Was the first trial of your 'cyborg' experiment successful?"

Vic opened his mouth to say something, then gave up and bowed his head.

"Yeah. That's what I thought. I'm a god-dang experiment to you." He turned away and looked down at his arm and meant to crack it, but it ended up transforming into the sonic cannon his father had talked about.

"Sonic cannon engaged," said Angelina Jolie inside his head.

"Let me tell you something Dad. It failed." He turned back to his father and leveled the sonic cannon in the old man's direction. "Because I'll never let you do this to anyone ever again!"

"Vic… I'm your father…"

Vic scowled, spun and fired the cannon, which smashed the giant computer in the room as the pieces erupted into flame.

"NO!" yelled Mr. Stone at the top of his voice, as he watched his computer burn.

Vic turned and pummeled the bench he'd been sitting in with his fist, and it broke clean in two, then he turned to the walls lined with delicate equipment and machinery. "Missiles," he muttered and almost immediately his shoulders split open and launched eight missiles in the direction of the walls, which immediately smashed as the machinery broke into flame.

He turned back to his father. "There you go Dad. Now you have nothing."

"I have… you…"

"Yeah… You could use me as blueprints for a second model, but you're not going to see me again. I'm gonna become what you've always hated." He walked slowly towards his father and looked him in the eye. "I'm gonna fight people like you who would use innocents for their own means. And I'll be sure to send them your personal regards."

"You'll never survive Vic. You've nowhere to go… Stay. Stay with me."

"I'll find somewhere. And I'll try to make someone's life better, not worse… like you intended me too."

"Metallic object detected in subject's left shirt pocket," said the voice in Vic's head.

"Miss Jolie tells me you have something in your pocket Dad." He fingered the shirt pocket and pulled out a small blue disc. "Oh. I better keep these plans Dad. Don't want you rebuilding the stuff."

The door burst open and Wilson ran in. He ran up to Mr. Stone and pushed him behind his muscular form.

"Careful Wilson. You'll be next."

Vic turned and walked to the massive holes in the walls caused by the missiles. He made them wider with his sonic cannon, before he morphed his arm back, and looked out into the huge city beyond. "Goodbye Dad. Don't expect a postcard," he said calmly before leaping into the skyline, jumping from building to building.

"Should we pursue him, sir?" asked Wilson.

Mr. Stone stood up and smiled. "Not yet. My son is bold, yet foolish and that will be his ultimate downfall. The boy's forgotten he'll need to be recharged soon as his batteries will run dead, then we can reclaim him easily." He pulled a device from his desk drawer, and indicated to Wilson the flashing red dot that indicated Vic's location. "And also, he will lead us straight to the green boy and his female friend… And S.T.A.R. Labs will not only own the patents on 'cyborg' technology, but also the ability to morph into animals and whatever weaponry we can manufacture out of the girl's powers. We'll be rich beyond belief."

"If I may say so sir, these children avoided capture from a fully armed squadron of police officers. How do we capture and detain them?"

"Well, that's where my son was correct, Wilson."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"You'll be next," Mr. Stone said with an evil grin spreading across his face.

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There you go… And now with every Titan established, it's time to move on and establish a villain or two. And perhaps a special bond between a villain and a hero???


	17. Flesh, Blood And Tears

Once again, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed. I read everyone of them and (try to) act upon all of them. Your thoughts, praise and criticism is much appreciated on this end of the line. So thank you! Alright…. Onto to Chap.17. Enjoy. 

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**Chapter 17:- Flesh, Blood And Tears**

"Robin?" said Batman over the communicator.

Robin sat in a dark room with Starfire sitting next to him. Beast Boy and Raven sat on the other side of the room. Several empty food wrappers littered the floor and a scent of different fast foods mixed together gave the room a nauseous yet comfy feel.

"Yeah?" Robin replied down the communicator.

"You need to see this."

Batman pressed a button on a console in front of him and static filled the communicator's small screen before it filled with a large picture of the Lake City school principal, then it switched back to Batman's face.

"The principal?" asked Robin.

"Yes. Although his true name is Sebastian, he is not the same man you had as principal at the beginning of the year… although their motives were probably the same."

"An imposter?"

"A relative. Probably a son."

"But they look identical…"

"They almost are. Their D.N.A. is 99.8 percent identical."

"But why…?"

"I have a feeling your school is a front for something much bigger. I have another call from the high judge in Metropolis. Diana and me are working on getting the Logan boy immunity via the law. Keep him safe," and with that the communicator went black.

Raven's breath came in heavy.

"Raven?" said Robin. "You know something about this, don't you?"

Raven nodded and muttered a single word: "Blood."

Vic was sitting on the top of a large truck of Coca-Cola that was heading towards Lake City. He tried to strike up a conversation with the voice in his head, but she would only mutter messages to tell him which of his systems were on. As much as he hated to admit it, his father had done an incredible job installing all the software into him. He had G.P.S. tracking systems, a built in cellular phone and communicator, and an interactive calendar and digital clock --- able to tell the time in every time zone. He also had high-tech motion sensors, six interface ports, SONAR, RADAR, cameras in his fingers, cables to allow him to extend his reach tenfold, and best of all a DVD-Rom drive, with 600 megabytes of RAM and the best subwoofer speakers on the market.

The speakers unfolded from his upper arms, and pumped out techno beats at a astonishingly loud volume. Realizing the driver might get suspicious, he was about to crank it down when they reached Lake City.

It all looked like business as usual in the city, so he jumped from the top of the truck to a nearby rooftop and headed towards the school.

He knew exactly what he would do. He'd hide on the rooftops until he could get Jinx alone, then he'd quickly tell her who he was (if she didn't recognize him), then she could tell the others. He thought of Gar and his current condition briefly before he arrived at a building near the school football field. He looked down over the enormous grounds and saw students lining the perimeter of it. He recognized his fellow football player, Baran Flinders, who sat sprouted long reddish hair and a red beard. Twenty feet away from him was Jinx, her hair bright pink as always, and he couldn't help smiling at seeing her again. On the other side of her was the letter boy, as short and dorky as ever.

He leapt towards her, sticking to the rooftops and being careful not to be seen. Odd as their behavior was, with the students lining the perimeter like this, he wouldn't be able to go and talk to her alone, so he's have to make a grab for her and pull her into the tool shed that Raven hid Gar in for a while.

When he was directly opposite Jinx, he leaped high, so no-one would see him until he touched down. He cut through the air and slammed into the ground in front of Jinx, then he grabbed her by putting his hand over her mouth and his other around her waist. Then he jumped again, breaking the tool shed roof with his feet and landing gracefully inside the shed with Jinx in his arms. She struggled with all the strength she could muster but Vic kept her still with his new bionic muscles.

He kept his hand clamped over her mouth, and looked her right in the eye. He noticed her pupils had extended like a cat's.

"Jinx, it's me… Vic. My father's done this to me, but its me, Vic, OK?"

He let his grip loosen around her mouth, and as soon as she could speak without being muffled she yelled: "INTRUDER!"

"Jinx! What are you doing?" Vic asked, half angry, half confused. He grabbed her by the upper arms, and shook her slightly in frustration.

She raised her forearm to point at Vic's armored chest. "You are trespassing on the property of my master," she muttered in a robotic tone. Then, her hand gave an aura of bright pink and a beam of pink energy fired from it, hitting Cyborg square in the chest, knocking him backwards, through the shed wall.

Jinx walked slowly towards his prone form, stepping over the remains of the shed wall Vic had flown through. "And now you must be eliminated," she continued in her robotic tone. She raised her arms slowly above her head as her hands expelled pink auras. Energy, in the form of a pink lightning, crackled between her, and her eyes sparked the same power.

Vic reached out and his hand sprang out on a thick, solid steel cable. He wrapped it the cable around her hands, forcing her hands together and the pink energy to fade away. "Don't do this Jinx!" he yelled at her.

Vic was flung to the side as Baran Flinders kicked him hard in the side of his face. He spun out of control and landed hard on his back. His cable hand jerked and retracted, sending Jinx flying towards him, and she landed clumsily next to him.

Vic looked up to see Baran and his massive form that almost matched his own. Baran roared viciously and charged, jumping Jinx, and attempted to pummel Vic with his huge, hairy fists. Vic avoided all of the blows by leaping skillfully to the side, but Baran's blows moved huge pieces of earth under his massive fists. Baran paused momentarily, probably to catch his breath, and Vic retaliated laying a powerful blow to his nose.

"Missile lock detected," said the voice in Vic's head.

Vic turned and saw the letter boy with several missile silos coming out of a device on his back. The missiles fired, and Vic jumped to avoid them, but the missiles tracked his movement and caught him in the air. He was thrown into the ground, where he left a large crater, and he let out a groan of pain. 'Dad must have installed pain receptacles, dang it,' he thought to himself.

Pink bands of energy strapped him to the floor, and despite his immense strength, he couldn't break through them. He looked up at Jinx, Baran and the letter boy with confusion and he saw their eyes glow a deep shade of red.

"Why are you doing this? How are you doing this?" asked Cyborg bewildered.

"Because of me," came a raspy voice and the principal, Mr. Sebastian, approached from behind them.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Victor Stone…"

"What have you done to them, Sebastian?" Vic yelled, fighting against his restraints even more.

"Nothing. Only made them the three best recruits in my army, and my name isn't Sebastian any more. It's Blood. Brother Blood."

"Army?"

"Yes. Now that I know where my Lord's daughter is, I can fulfill the prophecies passed down through the generations and the world will belong once again to Lord Trigon."

"You're insane! How did you do this to them?"

"I have very powerful skills of persuasion, … Cyborg."

"And what about their superpowers?"

"I simply heightened their natural abilities. Baran's raw strength and physical power heightened to the extent that we now call him Mammoth. For Gizmo here I perfected his inventive mind, and for your dear Jinx I heightened her natural curiosity. It was very kind of your friend Raven to leave her books in her room."

Vic snarled. "I won't let you get away with this."

"And how do you intend to stop me when you yourself are as mindless as your everyone else in this school?"

Vic growled.

"You show excellent prowess. You will be a worthy addition to the Army of Blood," said Brother Blood, his eyes glowing red.

Victor yelled in pain as a dark, foreboding force entered the corridors of his mind, worming their way through it. It swept away his desires, his dreams, his ambitions, as it crept through his brain.

"Mind affecting force from outside source detected," said Angelina Jolie inside his head. "Scanning for source."

Vic yelled louder as the force snaked it's way through the corridors. Brother Blood gave a slight chuckle.

"Source located. Working to combat control."

Vic stopped yelling, and the force slowed down, and dissipated to nothingness. He groaned once, then looked up at Brother Blood with a slight smile.

Brother Blood growled, as his eyes glowed deeper in color. Vic groaned slightly as the force returned weaker than it was, but it slowly but surely continued to brush away parts of Vic's psyche as it wormed through his mind.

"Little… help… please…" Vic muttered to the voice in his head.

Brother Blood chuckled. "There's no-one to help you now… Only me."

"Eliminating outside source," said the voice in Vic's head.

Brother Blood yelled, as electricity surged through his own brain. He fell to the floor and Jinx immediately turned to care for him, and in doing so, let the straps of energy that held Vic in place dissipate.

Vic took his chance and ran into the city as fast as he could, before scaling a building with a single bound and disappearing into the horizon.

Brother Blood stood up with Jinx's help and rubbed his temple. "We didn't get him," he said frustrated. "Follow him. He will lead us to the daughter."

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Jeesh. I really should lay off the big evil megalomaniacs trying to capture the Titans, etc. What can I say? I have a soft spot for megalomaniacs, and I share a name with Brother Blood too (Sebastian -- NOT BLOOD… MY NAME IS NOT BLOOD…) Anyhoo… I won't post again before christmas... SO A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!!!

Just as an advertisement. I'm about a halfway done with an stupid little one-shot for christmas cheer which I'll try to post tomorrow!! Please read it!! Once again --- MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY!! WOO!!!


	18. Lost And Found

DISCLAIMER:- I don't own 'Broken' by Seether and Amy Lee, but I wanted to use it at the very beginning of the chapter to give some depth to Cyborg's little scene at the beginning… So… Chap.18. Here we go. 

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Chapter 18:- Lost And Found

Vic leapt between the Lake City rooftops silently, memories of Jinx bright in his mind's eye. He scaled another building as her laughter filled his ears, and he felt a tear drip down his organic cheek.

_I wanted you to know that I love the way you laugh_.

_I want to hold you high and steal your pain away._

It was if she was there, his memories were so clear. The memory of her cheerleading for him at the last track meet was particularly prominent. It was the last time, he'd ever seen her smile.

_I've kept your photograph and I know it's served me well._

_I want to hold you high and steal your pain._

He felt her against him… then the haunting voice of Brother Blood echoed in his ears, and he felt the blow of Jinx's magic on his chest again, more painful than ever.

_Because I'm broken when I'm open._

_And I don't feel right and I'm not strong enough._

He leapt again, and landed cleanly on the next rooftop, and made a silent promise to her that he'd somehow find a way to pull her away from Blood, a way to bring her back. His fist clenched and his teeth grinded against each other.

"I promise…" he muttered.

_Because I'm broken when I'm lonesome._

_And I don't feel right when you're gone away._

He looked out over the woods at the city's edge, his heart heavy and knees weak. He looked out and saw the endless forest, each tree the same, yet so remarkably different in their own way.

_'Cause I'm broken when I'm open._

_I don't feel right and I'm not strong enough._

He leaped out into the forest, and soared above the trees for a few moments. Suddenly, the blue lights that lined his body flickered and turned off. His eyes shut, and everything went black.

_'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome._

_And I don't feel right when you're gone away._

His frozen body hurtled downward, powerless, it crashed into the trees, breaking several branches before it smashed into the ground, spraying mud and soil in every direction before resting lifeless on the forest floor.

_You've gone away._

_You don't feel me anymore._

"So basically our principal is an obsessed, mind-controlling freak who worships your father?" asked Robin, trying to clear things up.

"Yeah," replied Raven.

"In which case my friends, I highly recommend we return to Lake City," added Starfire, in a slightly darker tone than normal.

"Why to get our minds taken over by the guy?" asked Beast Boy sarcastically.

Everyone looked at him with a disapproving look.

"We left both Vic and Jinx there," said Robin darkly before turning back to Raven and Starfire. "I can take the Redbird and be there in less than an hour. I can take one passenger without slowing me down much. Who will it be?"

"I am able to fly at a speed equal to your motorcycle," said Starfire.

"And I can teleport," said Raven.

"Then I guess I'll take…" Robin turned to look at Beast Boy, who had a large grin on his face and waved foolishly. "Can't you fly?" Robin asked.

"Not as fast as a motorcycle."

Robin turned back to Raven and Starfire with a pleading look on his face, and they both shook their heads in response. Robin sunk a few inches and scowled.

"Follow me," he muttered quietly.

Beast Boy clapped his hands twice with a resounding 'Yay!" then shot off to follow Robin.

The device in Wilson's hand beeped wildly.

"He's stopped sir."

"Odd. Batteries shouldn't have run out that quick. I didn't charge them up all the way for obvious reasons, but still… He must have been fighting someone."

"Shall I go and pick him up, sir?"

"As soon as we're finished here," Mr. Stone said in an unpleasant tone before shoving the needle into Wilson's arm.

"Was it just me or did the tin man just fall into the forest?" Gizmo asked his two companions.

"Yeah…" said Mammoth, confused as always.

"Quickly… Let's drag him out and take him to the headmaster," said Jinx.

The other two nodded and all three of them walked into the forest.

Robin pulled up at the borders of Lake City, close to the forest edge.

The green monkey on the back of his motorcycle morphed back into Beast Boy. "We're there already?"

"The Redbird can reach top speeds of about 210 miles per hour."

A giant black bird emerged from the ground and slowly and eerily transformed into Raven. "Why are we stopping here?"

"Figured we should come up with some sort of plan. We can't just waltz in there."

"Why not?"

"Well for one, you two are wanted. Starfire's orange. And I haven't got my normal clothes on me."

Starfire flew down and landed next to them gracefully. "Robin! There are some people in the forest. I saw them as I flew down."

"It's not an uncommon thing for people to hang out in the forest, Star," said Beast Boy.

"Oh…"

"Don't worry about it Star… Let's keep moving," said Robin, revving up his engine.

"Wait," said Raven. "I thought we needed a plan."

Robin was about to answer when the leaves and trees rustled slightly to their left. Everyone spun their heads to look. Seconds later, the letter boy, walking on four metal spider legs that came out of his backpack, emerged from the forest. A huge hairy boy followed a moment after dragging a large metal contraption covered in leaves. Another moment and a pink-haired girl appeared after the two boys.

"Jinx! I am very happy at our reunion!" said Starfire happily flying towards the pink-haired girl.

Jinx scowled, raised her hand, and let loose a pink beam of magic directly at Starfire. She took the full force of the beam and was thrown out of the sky. Robin jumped off his motorcycle to catch her before she hit the ground.

Jinx looked at the rest of the people she had encountered and laid eyes upon Raven. "It's the daughter… Abandon this one. Get her!"

Her two companions smiled and leapt into action.

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Sorry... I realize this chapter was a little slow, but.... Action sequence coming up soon, but I enjoy procrastinating fight scenes, so first we go elsewhere. Because this is an origin fic… and there's one really cool character I have yet to introduce… NEXT:- Deliver The Deathstroke


	19. Deliver The Deathstroke

So who's guessed who I'm introducing in this chapter? Well he's actually been in for some time but I haven't revealed who he really is yet!!! So… Enjoy the entrance of… Nah. Just read on and find out. 

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**Chapter 19:- Deliver The Deathstroke**

"You still want to go through with this? Don't you Wilson?" asked Mr. Stone with no hint of concern in his voice.

"Of course, sir," replied Wilson, his drawling voice even creepier than normal as he lay immobile on a bed.

"Good. Because there's no turning back now."

Wilson smiled in reply.

"Alright, Wilson. The chemicals have dilated your senses, your vision may go blurry, hearing a little fuzzy."

"Yes, sir."

"Now. Whatever you do, don't panic."

"Yes, sir."

Mr. Stone walked away from Wilson and pressed a button on a console about four meters away from where Wilson lay.

A large device descended from the ceiling, and covered Wilson's head. Mr. Stone put an earplug in each of his ears, and pressed another button.

A loud, high-pitched humming sound radiated from the helmet, and Wilson groaned in pain as his body seized up and shook wildly. Mr. Stone smiled an unpleasant smile.

The humming stopped, and the helmet raised. Wilson stopped seizing and fell unconscious on his bed. Mr. Stone took the earplugs from his ears and walked over to Wilson. Most of his hair had fallen out, leaving him looking more gruff than ever and the eye patch he wore to cover his lost eye was shredded and torn, revealing the scars that remained from the acid burn that normally were hidden underneath.

Mr. Stone chuckled. "Do you have any idea what I have just done to you Wilson?" He said, muttering to himself more than Wilson. "I have made you the ultimate human being. The high-powered radio waves that this helmet creates have knocked down the barriers in your very brain…" He laughed again. "Most human beings use only about ten percent of their brain. You now have access to almost ninety percent. Think of everything you could do for this company…"

Quicker than lightning, Wilson opened his eyes, revealing one sharp eye and the terrifying socket that his other eye used to reside in. He reached up and grabbed Mr. Stone by the throat, as the veins in his muscular hands protruded more than normal.

"Not for the company…" he muttered, his voice like thunder. He thrust his arm upward, and Mr. Stone went flying through the air to come clattering down on his desk.

Mr. Stone groaned in agony as the desk he fell onto splintered into pieces and the lamp that illuminated the room flew across the room, as it flickered on and off. Wilson stood up, his empty eye-socket giving him a look of nightmares, and viciously flung his fist into the box of needles on a nearby table. The glass syringes shattered, and the shards flew across the room.

Wilson looked down at his hand and saw the shards embedded in his skin. "You did well, Mr. Stone. The pain has already subsided."

"Wilson?" Mr. Stone muttered, gasping for air.

"Don't be a fool. Wilson was an alias. However, Wilson is my second name. My first name… my true name… is Slade." The light flickered eerily as he said the words.

"Why?"

Slade walked up to Mr. Stone, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him upward so their faces were inches apart. "Because you killed my son…" Slade said in a tone that could make a tiger quake in fear before throwing Mr. Stone again, into the wall. The concrete crumbled as Mr. Stone collided with it. The old man screamed for security, but Slade laughed. "I am your security, remember?"

"I didn't kill your son…" Mr. Stone gasped desperately as blood trickled from his mouth.

"No, not technically. But your experiments drove him mad…"

"What?"

"Shall I refresh your memory, Mr. Stone? I was in Vietnam… From what I gather, my son --- Jericho --- went out to fetch some groceries for his sick mother." Slade came closer to Mr. Stone, raising him by the cuff of his collar again. "You took him to be a homeless boy in Gotham City and kidnapped him for your illegal experiments. When the experiment was deemed a failure, you sent him back to the streets, totally insane." Slade dropped Mr. Stone and turned away. "Then, as he stole food for his own survival, Robin, the Boy Wonder, comes along and sends my son off to Arkham Asylum. Where he is tortured, mutilated and killed by a villain called the Punk Rocket."

"You're lying… I checked Arkham's lists yesterday. There's no-one in there by that name --- or alias."

Slade turned back to Mr. Stone and smiled as the light flickered. "There isn't anymore."

"What do you intend to do?"

"Kill you. And everyone else responsible for my son's death."

"You're insane."

"Quite likely. They say there is a thin line between genius and insanity. And as you say, I can use ninety percent of my brain function." Slade turned away, and walked to a small wooden table. He slammed his fist down onto it, and it splintered, sending pieces of table wildly flying around the room. "But thanks to you. I now have enhanced strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and senses. No-one can stop me now."

"You're… wrong…" Mr. Stone muttered as his loss of blood started to effect him.

"Is the hero-fearing scientist laying his trust in Superman… or his own son?"

"Someone will… stop… you…"

"You wish," Slade said, he shuffled through the ruins of the desk, kicked aside the piece of Kryptonite that Mr. Stone kept there, and pulled out a piece of torn black fabric with the orange S.T.A.R. insignia on it. He tied it around his face, tore a hole for his eye, and walked over to Mr. Stone.

"What are… you doing…?" Mr. Stone muttered in fear as Slade walked over to him and picked him up viciously.

"It's not me you want!" Mr. Stone pleaded, "It's Robin! He's the one responsible for your son's death!"

"Robin will get what coming to him," Slade said. "As will you."

Mr. Stone screamed as Slade hurled him out of the glass window. It shattered, and the old man screamed as he fell through the Metropolis skyline with a ton of shattered glass.

Three blocks away, in the Daily Planet building, Clark Kent's ears pricked up. He heard screaming and glass shattering, followed by an evil laughter. He ran out of his seat toward the men's room.

"Clark?" asked Jimmy Olsen.

"When you gotta go, you gotta go," said Lois Lane with a smile, knowing perfectly well her husband wasn't running to use the restroom.

Slade laughed as he saw the lifeless from of Mr. Stone fall toward the busy street, but his laughter was stopped abruptly as a red blur caught Mr. Stone and flew up to confront him.

Superman flew about a foot outside the window, with an unconscious Mr. Stone in his arms.

Slade looked at him, then felt - through his now enhanced sense of touch - the heat radiating from Superman's eyes and saw the tiny red glow in his eyes.

Superman unleashed his heat vision, as several bolts of searing temperatures shot from his eyes. Slade, however, was ready and performed several backflips to avoid them. He flipped, jumped and twisted to avoid all the bolts, before he arrived at the ruins of the desk. He avoided a beam of heat quickly then grabbed the Kryptonite from the midst of the wooden remains, and hurled it towards Superman.

Superman's heat vision stopped against his will, and his eyes widened. The chunk of Kryptonite flew towards him and hit him in the jaw, knocking him backwards, and downwards towards the street. He smashed into the top of a red mini groaning with Mr. Stone next to him, and the Kryptonite resting by his neck.

Up above, Slade looked down on the carnage through his make-shift mask. "No one can stop me now," he muttered, a smile spreading across his face.

---------------------------------------------------

MAN! Villains are so fun to write especially Slade! And sorry… I wanted to beat Supes up a bit in this so… Anyhoo… with the two big bad guys established… (Three if you count Trigon)… what next? I know! But you don't! Hehe,  
Next:- Titans Together.


	20. Titans Together

_OK… I'm back. I am dreadfully sorry about the incredibly long wait. I've had some technical difficulties… (Most of my files got deleted… Think I recovered them all though…) Plus my life has been more hectic than usual since school got back in. My teachers seem to want to load as much homework an UIL crap as they can on me sigh Should not have signed up for Literary Criticism… Anyhoo… On with the important stuff…_

**Chapter 20:- Titans Together**

Mammoth leaped towards Raven, but collided with a green tiger and both of them fell to the ground with a crash as they locked each other in a wrestling match, both of them using their powers to their greatest advantage. Beast Boy slashed with his claws and gnashed with his teeth as Mammoth retaliated with hard, inaccurate jabs.

Gizmo skittered towards Raven, but was stopped as Robin tackled him to the ground with his staff. Robin bashed Gizmo's head with his staff three times, until Gizmo's mechanical spider legs came and bashed him away. Gizmo laughed, sprouted two metal wings from his backpack then took to the air firing two machine guns down at the Boy Wonder.

Jinx ran towards Raven, arms in a cross in front of her chest. She shot her arms down to her sides, as they left a trail of deep pink in the air, which shot forward and hit Raven.

The black-garbed witch fell to the ground. Then looked back at the pink-haired girl. "That's my magic…"

Jinx spun around sending slashes of pink energy in Raven's direction. Raven raised her hand, and a black shield of energy came into being in front of her. The pink slashes bounced off it and dissipated. The black shield disappeared and Raven floated, her eyes blazing white, and globes of black magic clinging around her hands. Jinx looked upward scowled, then threw three bolts of pink magic in her direction.

Robin flipped to avoid the spray of bullets coming towards him, then he landed, threw up his cloak and let the bullets ricochet off the bulletproof fabric. He heard Gizmo chuckle, and he let him fly closer towards him, before the boy wonder flipped upward, landing directly on Gizmo's back. He grabbed a bird-a-rang from his belt, spun it in his hand, then embedded it in Gizmo's backpack, causing sparks to fly from it and Gizmo to yell in frustration.

Mammoth laid a hard blow to the green tiger's underside, and Beast Boy went flying into the air. Mammoth yelled in triumph, then saw his green-skinned opponent hurtling back down towards him in the form of an eagle. Mammoth wielded his fists offensively, but Beast Boy shifted into an electric eel. He slithered around Mammoth's neck, stinging him at every opportunity.

"Aah! Get it off me!" yelled Mammoth as the green electric eel stung him on the ear and he grasped clumsily with his fists. "Off! Off!"

His fingers clumsily wrapped the eel, and it stung him on the fingers several time. Mammoth yelled again, before throwing it towards the forest.

Mammoth yelled momentarily in triumph until Starfire charged him at incredible speed, and he was thrown to the ground where the Tamaranian princess threw twenty starbolts at his prone form.

Beast Boy, still in the form of an electric eel, flew through the air and landed uselessly on the metal contraption that Mammoth had dragged out of the forest. The electricity from his snake-like body surged through the conductive metal and the entire contraption jolted and seized.

Beast Boy quickly morphed back to his human form and brushed away the leaves that covered most of the contraption. He brushed away the leaves near the top of the 'thing' and saw his old friend's face, laid with metal and electronics.

"Vic?" he muttered, before he jumped in surprise at the red eye in the metal half of Vic's face lit up and his organic eye opened. The blue lights that lined Vic's body lit up, and Beast Boy took a couple steps backward, as Vic sat up and rubbed his head.

"Aw man… Felt like I just ran out of juice…" Vic muttered.

"Vic?"

"Gar?"

Vic laughed and hugged his friend. "You look good in green, man."

"And you look good in … chrome?"

"Titanium."

"Nice. But how…?"

"Oh, I fell into a truck-full of acid and my evil billionaire father rebuilt me."

"Right."

"But not important… The principal turned Jinx and everyone in the school into mindless drones."

"Yeah, I figured something happened to her," said Beast Boy as he indicated the carnage that was happening before them. Robin still stabbed Gizmo's backpack with his bird-a-rang as the diminutive villain flew madly in the air, smoke billowing from his backpack. Starfire had gotten into a fistfight with Mammoth, except she was flying around him and had green globes of energy encircling her fists. Raven and Jinx stood at opposite ends of the street, throwing random spells at each other.

"Robin! Awesome! Are we on his side?"

"Yeah… It's Dick."

"Really?"

"And the orange girl is Kori,"

"Right."

"Good to have someone who understands me back though."

Mammoth reached upward and grabbed Starfire by the ankle, spun her round twice then hurled her into the bed of a pick-up truck.

"Starfire!" yelled Robin, jumping off Gizmo's back to land next to her. Gizmo flew off randomly into the sky yelling "Crud!" at the top of his voice.

"Star… You OK?" Robin said gently, helping her up.

She looked up and pointed feebly in reply.

Robin turned and saw the black Ford Escort whistling through the air towards them. He ducked, pulled Starfire close and covered them both with his cloak, knowing the fabric would protect them from any shards of metal and glass. It was the main impact of the car he had to worry about.

He braced himself, and hugged Starfire close to protect her face. . The bed of a pick-up shook as something landed on it and he clenched his teeth for impact. He waited for impact, but it never came.

It never came. He lowered his cloak and looked up to see Vic, with his huge metal arms holding up the car as he stood in the bed of the truck.

"Vic?" he said.

"Howdy," Vic replied before grunting twice and tossing the car. The car whistled through the air, straight towards Mammoth.

"Crap," Mammoth said before the car slammed into him, sending him flying into the forest, breaking three trees on his flight path, and slamming hard into a giant oak tree. He fell weakly to the ground before the giant oak tree fell on top him as well.

Jinx sliced her arm through the air and a slash of pink energy shot towards Raven. Raven summoned up a black shield, but the slash of pink magic broke through it and hit Raven, and knocked her to the ground.

Jinx walked up to Raven and summoned four strips of pink energy pinned her to the floor. Raven grunted and struggled, but couldn't break through the energy that held her down.

"For a witch, you aren't very good at magic," Jinx chuckled as the strip around Raven's neck tightened.

Raven's eyes blazed white. "Think again," she muttered as chunks of the road ripped from the ground and slammed into Jinx's face. The pink-haired witch fell to the ground, and the strips of energy that held Raven down dissipated. Raven clutched her neck and coughed several times.

Jinx looked at her, her eyes glowing pink. "Brother Blood calls for you!"

"Tell him he got the wrong number," came Beast Boy's voice from behind her. Jinx spun around to see the large green gorilla fist fly towards her face, knocking her out cold.

_Alright, chaps. This fic is very almost finished hopefully it won't take so long to update this time!_


	21. Confrontations

_I'm bloody sick of writing introductions. Let's just go straight into the story, shall we?_

**Chapter 21:- Confrontations**

"Thanks," said Raven as Beast Boy helped her up.

"You're welcome," said Beast Boy in an odd comedic tone.

Robin and Starfire crawled out of the bed of the truck.

"Vic? What happened to you?" asked Starfire.

"I'll explain later. Right now, we have to…" Vic started, but the lights that lined his body flickered and he stopped momentarily.

"Vic? You OK?" asked Robin slightly concerned.

"Yeah. Must have been a glitch or…" His lights flickered again, then went out. He fell forward crashing into the tarmac.

"Vic!" yelled Starfire concerned.

Robin quickly ran over to his fallen friend. "Looks like his battery ran out…"

"What?" said Raven.

"Well. It looks like he's all electronic now."

"Well, it explains why he suddenly woke up when I landed on him as an electric eel…" added Beast Boy.

"Yeah. He must have ran out before and when you landed on him you gave him a surge of power, and now he's out again…" confirmed Robin.

"Can you… fix him?" asked Raven.

"I think so. I have the stuff I need on the Redbird, but I'll need to get him somewhere safe."

"But where can we go?" asked Starfire.

"How about the Pizza Place?" said Beast Boy, pointing at their old pizza parlor, and the large 'condemned' sticker lining the door.

The other three looked at each other, then Robin shrugged and sighed. "Why not?"

"What about Jinx?" asked Starfire.

"Leave her," said Robin reluctantly. "She's one of them now."

"Bruce?" said Robin.

"What do you want?" came Batman's voice over the communicator.

"I need you to extend that protection order."

"I'll put Diana on it as soon as I've dealt with the Scarecrow."

"OK. Thanks, Bruce."

"Right."

Vic's organic eye opened and his electronic one lit up. He reached up, and rubbed his head slightly, then sat up. He sat on an old kitchen cabinet, surrounded by electronic equipment and miniature shop tools.

"How's it going Vic?" came Robin's dark, creepy voice from a corner. Vic spun around, and saw Robin leaning in the corner, shadows surrounding him and his mask off.

"Dick? You were Robin all this time?"

"Yeah."

Vic turned and stood up. "What happened?"

"You ran out of battery."

"I guess that makes sense…"

"I've charged you up to maximum capacity and installed a back-up generator capable of running all your systems for about thirty minutes."

"Thanks, man."

Robin stayed silent but kept his eyes fixed on Vic.

"Dick? … Robin? What's up?"

Robin held up a two chips about the size of the palm of his hand. "I found these in your systems."

Vic walked over to him and took the two chips. "What are they?"

"Homing devices, miniature cameras and microphones, and a transmitter sending a radio signal back to S.T.A.R. Labs."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"My father must have installed them…"

"Probably. The question is whether he did so with your permission."

"No, man! Why would I do that?"

"Because the technology your father could get from Gar would make him one of the richest men on Earth."

"And that's the reason I did it?"

"It would be the ultimate way to make your father proud."

"Dude! I wouldn't do that to Gar! He's been my best friend for almost six years!"

"And your father's been your father for your entire life!"

"And I've hated him for most of it!"

Robin was about to yell another comment but Beast Boy, Raven and Starfire burst through the door. Both Robin and Cyborg looked at them confused.

"What's wrong?" asked Robin.

"We got to go," said Beast Boy, throwing a newspaper to Vic.

Vic caught it and read the headline aloud. "S.T.A.R. Labs was attacked last night by an unknown assailant. The assailant not only managed to beat Superman and throw him eleven stories into the street, but put industry giant… Mr. Timothy Stone into a severe coma. Oh my God! Dad…"

"Where is he?" asked Robin, his mask suddenly back on.

"Stone is being held at Metropolis General Hospital until further notice," read Vic.

"Let's go," said Robin.

The gavel pounded three times.

"The court goes in favor of Wonder Woman," said the judge loudly. "Therefore, I hereby place Garfield Logan, Victor Stone, Kori Anderstar and the girl known as Raven under the full protection of the Justice League. Any other attempts to capture or detain these individuals may be stopped by members of the Justice League by any means necessary. Any court cases involving these four must be presented to me, where I guarantee the offenders will lose their company… Do I make myself clear? Court is adjourned."

Wonder Woman smiled and opened a communicator. "Bruce. Order's been cleared. If S.T.A.R. or LexCorp even dream about going after your little friends the police have to apprehend them and we can legally beat the crap out of them."

"Good. Thanks Diana," came Batman's voice.

"You owe me one."

"One what?"

Wonder Woman simply smiled.

Slade watched the screen on the handheld device he had lifted from Stone. It showed Robin, the Boy Wonder looking down at the camera and holding several tools. Then, Robin looked down, directly at the camera, and looked confused, then angry, before he reached down and the screen went black.

Slade replayed it. Over and over again.

"Come on, Robin. Be a good little bird and take the bait."

Slade turned and looked at Mr. Stone lying in the hospital bed, and smiled a wicked smile.

_There we have it… Chapter 21 is finished… Next Chapter 22... No-one would have ever figured that out right..? Wish me luck in actually getting that one posted quickly..._


	22. These Eyes We Hide

**Chapter 22:- These Eyes We Hide**

Vic desperately hit the elevator button several times before yelling loudly in frustration and running up the stairs as fast as his legs could take him.

He reached the third floor, sped into the corridor, and flung open the door to ward three. Lying in the hospital bed, with casts around his neck, left arm and both legs, was his father.

"Dad!" yelled Vic.

Ten minutes later, outside in the waiting room, the others sat patiently.

"I do not understand," started Starfire. "Vic has openly said he does not like his father, yet he is most concerned about him."

"It's human nature, Star," replied Robin. "You always look out for the ones you love. No matter what happens between you."

"So, friend Raven, you would do anything to save your father even though you do not like him?"

"My father's not human, Star. So he doesn't count."

Starfire buried her face in her hands. "Oh, earthly ways of family are most confusing."

"Why how does it work on Tama… Tima… Temi… Wherever it is you come from?" asked Beast Boy.

"If a family member does something wrong they are forced to leave the family."

"Ouch," said Beast Boy.

"I'm going to see if Vic's OK. He's been in there for a while now," said Robin.

"Allow me to accompany you friend Robin," added Starfire sweetly.

"Sure," he smiled as they walked off leaving Beast Boy and Raven alone.

"I'm gonna grab a soda," said Beast Boy. "You want one, Rae?"

"No thanks."

"Why not? You must be thirsty."

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Err… I guess."

She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Coke makes me hyper…"

"You're kidding…"

Raven smiled and shook her head.

"I'll see if they have any tea machines, k?"

"Thanks Gar."

"No problem Rae."

Robin and Starfire walked into the ward. Vic leant over his father.

"Who did this to you, Dad?"

"I don't remember…" Mr. Stone gasped.

Vic turned to his friends, then back to his father. "What do you remember?"

"… An eye…"

"One eye?"

"Yes…" muttered Mr. Stone before he slipped into unconsciousness.

Vic looked at Robin. The room was dark, but the light from the corridor flooded the room with an eerie light despite the dark night outside the window.

"Who did this to him D… Robin?" asked Cyborg, catching himself just before he used Robin's real name.

"I don't know… But that eye has to mean something."

The door slammed shut, making the room go dark with the exception of the tiny slither of light that shined in from under the door.

Robin spun around quickly to see a muscled man in body armor, wearing a black and orange mask with one eye showing through, hiding in the shadows behind the door.

"Superheroes… So predictable in their mindless pursuits of honor."

"Who are you?"

"You, Robin, can call me Slade."

"What do you want with my dad?" yelled Vic.

"He has served his purpose and brought the little bird out of hiding," said Slade, keeping his eye fixed on Robin.

"What do you want with me?" asked Robin.

"I want you to pay for what you did to me…"

Robin growled.

"You did this!" yelled Vic, referring to his father. "I don't know who you are, but you'll pay for it!"

Vic charged with all his mechanical might, but Slade leaped over him gracefully and unleashed a sharp, powerful kick to his back which sent him flying through the door and into the corridor.

Starfire charged too, arms stretched out in front of her. Slade grabbed her wrist, spun her around him twice before hurling her into the wall.

Robin drew his Bo Staff, and Slade drew one too. They circled one another, sizing up their foe from every angle.

"We're not so different you and I, Robin. We both use a Bo Staff and we both hide our eyes… or eye in my case. I've made men suffer before, and so have you… But this is where we differ."

Robin grunted.

"Because you will pay for making me suffer… And I will receive no retribution."

"Who are you?"

"I am the person you condemned to spend my recent years in misery. I am the person who you stole everything from… and the person who will never be able to replace it."

The bewildered look on Robin's face made Slade smile.

"I am the person who will bring about the end of you and all of your precious friends. I am your nemesis Robin. I am the shadow that lurks in the deep corner of your mind when you remember what its like to lose your family."

Robin gasped.

"Yes, I know all about you Dick. And you don't know anything about me. But enough talk, its time for me to end this."

He leaped forward with grace and power and brought his staff down hard on Robin's own staff as his eye twinkled madly in the eerie light.

See… I updated quickly… Be proud of me! It is really short though... ahhh deal with it.  
And as a side note for everyone who reviewed this tory and my other one, Chnaged World, read if you haven't done so already, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! It really is amazing to know people like the stories I write... And... an extra special side note to LadyHood... Don't know who you are but you're always the first to read and review my fics. I really appreciate it so thanks. And to Turq... who has been my friend even when I get writer's block.. thank you to you too.  
OK... Enough soppy crud and back to writing I guess... woohoo!  
Oh and I made third place in Literary Criticism for all of you that care...


	23. Battling It Out

**Chapter 23:- Battling It Out**

Robin brought his staff up, spinning it round his head and blocking Slade's blow. Slade rebuked, attacking with powerful blows. Robin had to resort to blocking his opponent's attacks, instead of actually attacking.

Slade swung and Robin stepped backwards to avoid it. He knew this was a bad thing to do; stepping backwards gave his opponent a chance to advance, but he had no choice. Within thirty seconds of combat, Robin was already right up against the wall.

In the corridor, Cyborg stirred and stumbled to his feet. He glanced inside the room and saw Robin against the wall, fighting Slade.

"Vic! Your dad!" Robin yelled.

Vic jumped to his feet, ran to the hospital bed and grabbed his father's unconscious form, then he grabbed the unconscious Starfire. He held them both, on in each arm, then looked towards Robin.

Robin ducked a powerful stab attack from Slade's staff. The hilt of the staff went through the plaster wall with a crash. Robin lashed out with his foot, sweeping Slade's feet from under him.

"Go!" Robin yelled.

Vic ran out the door, as Slade lashed out at Robin's ankles with his staff. The boy wonder did a back-flip to avoid it, then attacked Slade again. Slade jumped to his feet, parried, and the two were locked in combat once more.

Beast Boy sat down next to Raven and handed her a Styrofoam cup full of steaming tea.

"Thanks," Raven said, a small smile on her face. She gently sipped down her tea as Beast Boy downed his soda in one go. "You shouldn't drink that all in one go," she told him.

"Why not?" asked Beast Boy, throwing his can into the trashcan.

"It might make you sick."

"We're in a hospital Rae. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"That's not the point. I don't want you getting sick."

Beast Boy looked at her and she looked back at him, and they stared into one another's eyes for a moment, then he gently took his hand and laid it on top of hers. Raven smiled weakly at him, before heavy footsteps came down the hallway.

"Gar! Rae!" Cyborg yelled desperately.

"Vic? What's…?" started Beast Boy, quickly pulling her hand away from Raven's out of embarrassment.

"It's Robin… He's…"

"In trouble," finished Raven. "Get them out of here. We'll go help Robin."

Slade's staff slammed into Robin's jaw and Robin was thrown backwards, into a bench full of hospital equipment. He slid down the bench, leaning against it as he breathed heavily in exhaustion. The hospital equipment fell to the ground and Robin soon sat in a pool of medicine bottles, syringes, knives and larger electrical equipment.

Slade walked over and kicked Robin's Bo Staff out of his hand. He drew a sharp disc from his belt, then raised it high. "Goodbye little bird."

"Stop!" came two voices from behind the villain. Slade spun around to see Raven and Beast Boy, ready for anything. He grunted once out of annoyance and dropped the disc.

Beast Boy started towards Slade, shifting into a wolf. Slade held his staff in front of him defensively. The green wolf growled ferociously.

Suddenly, the staff started to be surrounded by a black aura, and shot out of Slade's hand and into the nearby window, shattering the window into a hundred pieces.

Slade looked towards the window in brief shock and was instantly pounced on by the green wolf. Slade was knocked to the floor as the wolf snapped at his face and hands.

The villain rebuked himself, kicking the wolf off and giving himself an instant to get up before it was back on him. The wolf growled and leaped towards him, teeth bared.

Slade grabbed the defibrillator from the cartful of hospital equipment and shoved it outwards at the green wolf. Volts of electricity surged through the green wolf's body before it turned back into Beast Boy.

Beast Boy fell over, smoking slightly and undoubtedly unconscious. Raven kneeled next to him and placed one hand on his chest. Then, she scowled at Slade and raised her other hand.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she yelled, as she let the black magic burn around her hands. Dozens of pieces of sharp glass from the broken window shot upwards and towards Slade.

The villain flipped and twisted his way around them as best he could. But, three pieces of glass embedded into his arm, the blood seeped from them slowly but there was no pain. Slade didn't feel pain anymore.

He jumped high, and landed behind Raven. She turned around quickly to see Slade's foot collide with face before she fell unconscious over Beast Boy.

Slade got up and smiled before walking over to Robin and picking up the disc again. Robin groaned in pain. Slade smiled and picked up Robin's Bo Staff. He cleverly attached the disc to the end of it and drew it high, letting the razor sharp disc lay inches above Robin's neck. "Where was I?" he muttered.

A metal hand shot out on a cable and grabbed the staff. "Dunno, but you're gonna be in jail!" yelled Cyborg, pulling his hand back. Slade didn't let go of the staff in time and flew through the air towards Cyborg, until the bionic teen hit him hard with his other hand.

Slade yelled in pain before flying into the wall with a crash. Robin, with a little difficulty, got up and stared at his adversary. Suddenly, a dozen green bolts of energy flew into where Slade was and exploded, smoke billowed from the area and Robin coughed weakly.

The smoke cleared and revealed nothing. Slade was…

"Gone," said Cyborg.

"For now," finished Robin.

"You mean he will return?" asked Starfire.

"I guarantee it Star," replied Robin, obviously somewhat frustrated.

"Then next time," said Raven as she climbed to her feet. "We'll be ready for him."

Raven helped Beast Boy up. "I hate hospitals…" the green boy muttered.

"So what do we do now friends?" asked Starfire.

"Whatever we can, we stop Blood, we stop Slade and anyone else who wants to get in our way," said Robin.

"Are we gonna join the Justice League?" asked Beast Boy.

"Bats will never allow it," said Robin. "We'll make our own team, wherever we want..."

"But we'll need a headquarters," said Cyborg.

Mr. Stone stumbled through the doorway and lean on its frame. "Maybe… I can help with that…"

Sorry for the wait. UIL been taking a lot of my time again but I didn't make it to State, so I'm done… Hope you liked this chapter and for those of you are confused about Slade's hatred of Robin, quickly reread Chap19, and that explains it all. Sorry if it wasn't clear enough. sob My next chapter will probably be my last one… This is an origin fic it has to come to an end at the beginning of the series…. So stay tuned. I'll try to update quickly. Also, make sure you guys read my other fic, Changed World, because… well, because. Anyhoo, see ya!


	24. New Beginnings

**Final Chapter: New Beginnings**

_2 Months Later…_

"Dude!" yelled Beast Boy at the top of his voice as he saw the amazing building before him. Starfire gasped and even Raven's eyes widened in shock as the massive metal T-shaped tower loomed above them in the sunlight.

"Dad? Why did you…?" started Cyborg.

"Because son," Mr. Stone said, clapping his hand on his son's shoulder. "I'm not going to make the same mistakes again."

Cyborg laughed as Beast Boy ran in through the huge front door and yelled "Wow!" so loud that it echoed around the Tower.

"How did you afford this?" asked Robin.

"I took some of the funds from S.T.A.R. Labs, and some of our latest equipment. I installed high-tech security cameras all across the Tower, a very loud alarm system, at least twelve bedrooms, six bathrooms, three supercomputers, a high tech training course, and…" he paused briefly and pulled out a remote from his pocket. He pressed the button, and a massive TV lit up from the wall. "The biggest plasma TV I could find."

Beast Boy made a loud sigh of satisfaction before falling onto the couch in a trance.

Raven groaned at Beast Boy.

Robin tapped away at one of the computer's keyboard. "This software is incredible."

Mr. Stone smiled. "No more nasty Microsoft bugs."

Robin chuckled in reply.

"Dad…" started Cyborg.

"Son, I'm sorry for being who I am… was. This is a new beginning for me, and for you. Don't waste this opportunity."

"He's right Vic," said Robin. "The tracking device I planted on Jinx led us here to Jump City which means Blood has to be nearby, and Slade is bound to still be on our tails."

"You're a true superhero now Vic."

"Dad, I…"

"You saved me, Vic. I know you can save other people too."

Vic smiled and pulled his father into a tight embrace, and his father happily returned it.

"Wait!" interrupted Beast Boy, breaking the moment. "Does that mean we're a real superhero team now?"

"Yes, Beast Boy. It does," said Robin.

"Well in that case, we need a name."

"A name?"

"And costumes…"

"Then what name do you suggest friend Beast Boy?" asked Starfire sweetly.

"I was thinking… The Freedom Force."

"Oh… Good job, Gar. Real original."

"Got anything better, Rae?

"How about the Descendents of Azar?"

"Oh, yeah. That would be perfect if we wanted to confuse the crud out of people we rescue!"

"Well at least we wouldn't get sued for copyright purposes!"

"Aw… There like an old married couple already," said Cyborg in an annoying sing-song voice to Starfire.

"We are not married!" yelled Beast Boy and Raven in unison.

"You even think alike. How cute," said Cyborg.

Suddenly a red blare came from around the room. The TV screen flashed "TROUBLE!" in large red lettering.

"Trouble!" yelled Robin. He hit a few buttons on his keyboard and a picture of a massive monster made of rocks appeared on the screen. "Break in at the local jail."

"It could be Blood..." said Cyborg.

"Or Slade…" said Raven.

"Whoever they are," started Robin. "They're no match for the Teen Titans." He outstretched his hand.

Beast Boy laid his hand on top of his. "Now that's a sweet name."

Raven put hers on top of Beast Boy's. "It's better than Freedom Force."

Starfire put her hand on Raven's. "Let us go stop this injustice!"

Cyborg put his on top of Starfire's hand. "Let's go kick some butt."

Everyone raised their hand and yelled and smiled. The Teen Titans were born.

"Titans, Go!" yelled Robin and each and every one of them ran out of the door, leaving Mr. Stone to smile in the main room.

Beast Boy suddenly stopped. "Wait… When do I get my spandex?"

A black hand appeared and hit him round the head. "Let's go Gar," said Raven in monotone.

"Right…" Beast Boy muttered before smiling and running out the door.

_**FIN**_

Well. There we have it. The Teen Titans are formed… and the team is off to tackle their first challenge… (See Divide And Conquer for the battle)…. The Show is supposed to take over from here but fear not ye of little faith… because I do have a sequel in the works. Its working title is "Since When Has Life Been Titanic?" The sequel will not only contain the true plan of Brother Blood and 'the daughter', Jinx's fate, the origins of some other characters in the Titans universe (possibly the Titans East), Beast Boy's arch-nemesis, and an extra special surprise for everyone's favorite villain and it's got a name…DUN DUN DUN...But to burst all the bubbles… I want to finish some other things I'm working on before I crack on with the sequel. I have to finish Changed World, I have Fires Of Tomorrow that I'm working on with Turq, I have a BBRae story coming and a Cyborg-centered tale… and I want to finish them all, but not necassirly in that order… But I will get round to a sequel because I have loved writing this fic so much. Special thanks go out to my reviewers; LadyHood, Sparrowing, The Foolish Immortal, soaring-bright-flame, WickedRaven, Shantel, doc-trigger, Ballisticrime, R.S.Logan, Moi Meep, Dooley, turq, TtitansFan, Scorpio Serpent, Swoop, xBxMYxJaMeSxDeANxcandyclouds, Starfire fan 09, disappearer/Syani, flannelsanddramaqueens, pozestillusion, closetwriter, Pline, Cyberwraith9, Meditation, Silent Tiger, and Miyu399. I really appreciate your comments and praise, etc… it means a lot. But why am I writing this junk? I got stories to work on! Lots of 'em! Cheerio!


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